Bhubaneswar, June 3: Stung by criticism over growing malnutrition in the wake of the Nagada incident, the state government has decided to extend the community management of malnutrition programme to all 30 districts.

The programme is now being implemented in Kandhamal and Balangir districts on a pilot basis.

The malnutrition issue came to focus following the deaths of at least 19 children in the Nagada cluster of villages inhabited by the Juang tribe within six months last year allegedly due to malnutrition.

The decision to extend the programme was taken by the State Empowered Committee meeting chaired by chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi recently. It was decided during the meeting that the programme would be implemented in convergence with the departments of health and family welfare and women and child development. Unicef and Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives would be partners in the programme.

Director of social welfare Prasant K. Reddy said children with acute malnutrition would be treated with ready-to-use therapeutic food and energy density therapeutic food through anganwadi centres. Around 4,300 children have been identified as suffering from acute malnutrition.

A state-level training of trainers for the nutrition programmes has already been completed. Capacity-building training of the frontline workers and the personnel of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) will be conducted shortly. Community awareness and mobilisation activities will also be undertaken at village and community levels.

Chief secretary Padhi directed the women and child development department to strengthen internal monitoring system and ensure 100 per cent flow of supplementary nutrition to the targeted group. Around Rs 808.98 crore was earmarked for supplementary nutrition programme for 2017-18.

It was also decided that crèche and daycare facilities would be upgraded. Presently, around 136 crèche are functioning in the state. It has been proposed to set up 3,629 anganwadi and crèche centres in the first phase during 2017-18.

The meeting also decided to implement the ICDS Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Programme in Khurda district on a pilot basis during the current year. For the purpose, an application software has been developed and shared with the Centre. Under the programme, each anganwadi worker will be provided with a smart phone and each supervisor given a tablet.