Assistance in Nutrition

UNICEF supports the Government in its objectives to reduce and prevent malnutrition, and to improve the development of children under three years old, especially those in marginalized groups.

The Government’s Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme, reaches 34 million children aged 0–6 years and 7 million pregnant and nursing mothers. The world’s largest early childcare and development programme, it is designed to play a significant role in the improvement of early childcare.

UNICEF is assisting the Government to further expand and enhance the quality of ICDS in various ways: by improving the training of anganwadi (childcare) workers; by developing innovative communication approaches with mothers; helping to improve monitoring and reporting systems; providing essential supplies; by developing community-based early childcare interventions.