What is ICDS stand for in total?
ICDS Full Form: Integrated Child Development Services in its entire form. ICDS is an Indian government institution that provides food, pre-school, primary education, healthcare, health check-ups, immunization, and referral services to children and their mothers under the age of six.
The plan began in 1975, was halted by the Morarji Desai government in 1978, and then restarted by the Tenth Five-Year Plan. Lactating and pregnant women are also eligible for the programme.
Objectives of the ICDS Full Form?
Table of Contents
Integrated Child Development Services in its entire form. Improving the health and nutrition of children under the age of six.
Interventions for children’s social, physical, and psychological development Reducing the number of deaths, illnesses, infant malnutrition, and school dropout.
Improving mothers’ health and educating them about their children’s educational and nutritional needs through adequate health and nutrition education.
ICDS provides a service | ICDS Full Form
The following programmes are available through ICDS to assist in achieving the organization’s goals:
- Nutritional supplements
- Assistance with referrals
- Immunization
- Non-formal (pre-school) education
- Information on health and nutrition
- Inspections for public health.
- Thrust Areas to Avoid
Nutritional Supplements (CN)
For extremely young children aged 1/2 to 2 years, the benefit of CN appears to be minimal. Their attendance at AWC is low, as is their intake of CN. To attract them to the AWC, a creative strategy is required. Young children will almost certainly require special attention in terms of CN and increased awareness of health and nutrition instruction.
Physiologically, there are significant disparities in food consumption in early development. As a result, special attention must be paid to specific age groups in order to determine the requirements and diversity of CN, for example, nutritional demands and intake varies between children aged 4 to 6 months, 7 to 12 months, and above 12 months.
We believe that the best age to introduce CN is between 4 and 6 months. Many paediatricians, however, advise exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months. More information is needed to create a firm policy in this debate.
We also need a clear policy on the introduction of CN to children with low birth weight. In its current form, CN must be healthy, nutritionally and culturally acceptable, and include sufficient micronutrients. This necessitates extra caution in tiny children aged 1/2 to 1 year, as household foods are difficult for them to ingest in big quantities.
The timing of CN should be such that it does not interfere with the intake of breast milk. As a result, the optimum time to offer it to small children is probably in between feeds. At the AWC, we prefer to serve hot meals. Even so, it’s not a problem if young children, pregnant and lactating women, and pregnant and lactating women are given ‘take home’ dry rations or precooked packages.
In some cases, a controlled research could be conducted. Given the results of iron and folic acid pills, CN may be fortified with micronutrients. In light of our current knowledge in this subject, the micronutrient requirements, calorie requirements, and CN components for LBW and normal children must be redefined.
During community surveys, mothers frequently complain about their children’s lack of appetite. The discovery that the existence of asymptomatic microorganisms in the digestive, urinary, or respiratory tracts is linked to anorexia and a lack of appetite, leading in increasing weight loss and malnutrition, necessitates a thorough investigation to determine the best course of action.
Monitoring of Growth and the Faltering of Growth
This action did not accomplish the goal for which it was started. Standardization and understanding are required for the various tools for weight taking and length/height recording. If this activity is to continue, AWW, ANM, and other officials will need more training and instruction in this area. In light of recent findings that some children’s linear development falters before they begin to lose weight, linear growth measurement is just as significant as body weight.
Coordination and Convergence
More convergence and coordination among many departments, NGOs, and organizations participating in mother and child development are required to reduce redundancy and unnecessary expense. For engagement between ICDS Full Form , health functionaries, and the community, CTC-ICDS advocated using fixed day immunization sessions.
The concept of observing a special day every 10–15 days, where the community can actively participate and interact with ICDS and health workers, has been promoted by CARE and other NGOs. Any strategy that promotes convergence at all levels is welcome.
Participation of the Community
Despite our best efforts, community involvement has been poor and far below expectations. We propose that elders and menfolk in the household be involved and community opinion leaders, women groups, adolescents, Swastha Sangathans, Mahila Mandals, Gram Panchayats, and other organizations.
Their collaboration will be quite exciting, with plenty of community motivation, mobilization, and engagement opportunities. Participation of the community in the planning process can be beneficial and should be encouraged. At AWC, AWW, a crucial player in ICDS, needs more time for motivational community visits and interaction. Only by spending less time on non-productive tasks will this be achieved.
Administrative reprimands
Better AWW and Mukhya Sevika training, additional inputs, improved supervision, reasonable and equal workload division, improved logistics, and realistic community expectations would all help to improve the ICDS programme.
CTC-ICDS had emphasized the risk regions in each state and offered a variety of corrective actions at their annual convention in 1977. Kapil and Tandon [3] have mentioned these points once more. They are deserving of the highest level of consideration from the relevant authorities.
ICDS has been and continues to be a wonderful programme for the development of mothers and children. Its execution has been good in the majority of places, exceptional in a few, mediocre in others, and poor in others.
We advocate an objective examination and assessment of the ICDS and strengthening the weaker links because we believe in overall great performance rather than being satisfied with tiny mercies in pockets of excellence. That is the goal of this paper.
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