Role of Integrated Child Development Services programme in Promoting the Health Status of Women in Srinagar, Kashmir.

Abstract

It is estimated that one third of women of India in the reproductive age are undernourished with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 18.5 kg/m². Government of India has made an important intervention in improving the health status of women and children in India through its flagship programme Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). Started with just two projects of ICDS in the state of Jammu & Kashmir in Billawer and Kangan region today there are 141 projects in the state with a total of 28599 Anganwadi centres operating in the three divisions of the state. In the year 2013-2014, 197324 expectant women/lactating women and 178855 adolescent girls availed the services from 28599 AWCs. This paper tries to study the role of ICDS in promoting the health status of women in Srinagar city. The Primary data was collected and analyzed from four ICDS projects of Srinagar city. Pregnant women, lactating mothers and women in the age group of 15-45 years were included in the study. A total of 144 beneficiaries and 44 functionaries were selected through Stratified random sampling technique. Self devised Interview Schedule, Observation and Focused Group Discussions were the tools used to gather the required data. The data gathered through the administration of tools was coded and tabulated using Microsoft Excel. Secondary data in the form of existing literature, journal articles, websites and government reports and policy documents were also analyzed.