Karnataka - Bangalore

BMP offers `Sanjeevini' for pregnant women

Staff Reporter

Even nursing mothers from poor families can get midday meal

                           
PLAYING MOTHER: Mayor Mumtaz Begum serves food to nursing mothers under "Sanjeevini" scheme, which was launched by BMP in Bangalore on Thursday. — Photo: K. Gopinathan

BANGALORE: Mayor Mumtaz Begum on Thursday played host to over 50 women when she served them meals at the launch of "Sanjeevini", a supplementary nutrition programme for expecting and nursing mothers from the urban poor families.

Although Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) announced this programme in December, it was inaugurated on Thursday. The civic body has entered into an agreement with the Akshaya Patra Foundation to provide meals to identified beneficiaries at selected distribution centres.

The Mayor, who inaugurated the programme, said the BMP will take up several other welfare measures to provide facilities for the urban poor, particularly in the field of public and clinical health.

"We have initiated this programme of supplementing nutrition to ensure that the expecting and nursing mothers overcome anaemia and malnutrition and deliver healthy babies," the Mayor said.

She said BMP hospitals provide antenatal care to over 40,000 women every year and one-third of them deliver in the same hospitals. "As a majority of women visiting BMP hospitals are poor, `Sanjeevini' will go a long way in their life," she said.

As per the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Akshaya Patra Foundation, the foundation will prepare and distribute midday meals at 91 designated centres set up in BMP schools, she said.

Of the 3,000 women, who have been identified as beneficiaries of this programme, only 1,500 will be provided nutrition for the next two months. The programme will be extended to provide more beneficiaries in the next financial year and suitable budgetary allocations will be made, she said.

Expectant mothers from their fourth month of pregnancy and six months after delivery can avail of this benefit. The Medical Officers (MOs) of BMP hospitals will issue identity cards to beneficiaries.

The pregnancy status, delivery date, family details and the school in which the mother can avail of the benefit will be mentioned in this card.

The BMP will bear the cost of the project, which is expected to cross Rs. 18 lakhs at Rs. 6 a meal.

Akshaya Patra Foundation vice-president Chanchalapati Das, BMP Joint Commissioner (East) N. Jayaram, and Chief Health Officer Tandav Murthy were present.