Abstract

Research on maternal health in the last several decades has shown India’s maternal health indicators to be among the poorest across the world. Over 70 per cent of women in India have been found to be anaemic over the last decades. Despite these poor indicators on maternal health, India’s progress in improving the status of maternal and child health and nutrition has been slower compared to other countries in the world. Given this context, the Government of Karnataka has sought to undertake a pilot programe for the ‘Mathru Poorna Yojna (One Full Meal)’ to ensure adequate nutrition for pregnant and lactating (P&L) mothers by providing them with one full, hot, cooked meal (HCMs) at anganwadi centres, with assistance from UNICEF. The scheme aims at providing one full HCM with IFA tablets, alongside weight monitoring and counselling for issues such as postpartum depression and early childcare.

The given report details the results from an undertaking to review the pilot implementation of the programme and its uptake by beneficiaries. This is being done to provide data to the Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD) so as to observe whether the programme ought to be scaled up to all districts in Karnataka. An ethnographic study spanning the first three months of programme implementation was undertaken in two blocks to understand the programme in termsof its planning and administrative components, to assess the nutritive impact of the programme and to identify relevant socio-cultural barriers to its implementation. Results from the study illustrate mixed results, with better uptake in Jamkhandi compared to HD Kote (the pilot districts). Preliminary observations indicate towards a need for consensus building between staff and the extended community. Certain caste-based and socio-cultural barriers related to receiving food and women’s mobility impacted the success of the scheme, as well as popular perceptions of anganwadi centres in the field.

CBPS. (2017). An ethnographic study of the Mathru Poorna Yojana (One Full Meal) pilot project for pregnant and lactating mothers in two blocks of two districts in Karnataka. Bengaluru: Centre for Budget and Policy Studies.