“Every Child Must Have Access to Essential Health and Nutrition Services”: Chief Secretary Shri Vikasheel
Chief Secretary Reviews Child Health Initiatives with UNICEF Representatives and State Officials, Calls for Stronger Last-Mile Delivery
Raipur, August 10, 2026/ “Strong inter-departmental coordination, effective implementation at the grassroots and timely delivery of essential services are crucial to improving child health outcomes across Chhattisgarh,” said Chief Secretary Shri Vikasheel while reviewing the State’s child health and welfare programmes at a joint meeting with UNICEF representatives and senior officials of various departments at Mantralaya, Mahanadi Bhavan, on Monday.
At the meeting, discussions and deliberations were focused on services related to child nutrition, health, education, drinking water, cleanliness and sanitation, with detailed discussions on malnutrition, anaemia, developmental delays, maternal and child health, maternal and infant mortality, anaemia control and child marriage.
Shri Vikasheel directed UNICEF and departmental officials to ensure the availability of essential micronutrients, including folate, vitamins, Vitamin B-12 and zinc, under child health programmes. Chief Secretary also reviewed the measures being taken to address maternal and child mortality, malnutrition, anaemia and child marriage.
Particular emphasis was placed on expanding Child-centric Community Management to all districts and capacity building of health workers to provide dietary and nutritional support to parents of specially-abled children. Officials also discussed measures to improve the quality of Take-Home Ration, ways to promote nutritious home-cooked meals and the need to encourage better feeding practices for children.
The concept of establishing grain banks at the Gram Panchayat level was discussed to ensure better availability of cereals, pulses and legumes. The need for providing farmers with better access to quality seeds was also discussed in the meeting, with the objective to promote diverse and nutrient-rich crops and pulses across the State.
Officials informed in the meeting that the State’s anti-malaria campaign has resulted in a significant decline in malaria cases. The nutritional health of children, particularly the prevalence of anaemia, was also reviewed. Special health programmes are being implemented in Bastar to address anaemia among children.
The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary Panchayat and Rural Development Department Smt. Richa Sharma, Principal Secretary, Women and Child Development Department Smt. Shahla Nigar, Secretary, Public Health and Family Welfare Department Shri Amit Kataria, Secretary, Public Health Engineering Department Shri Abdul Qaiser Haq, Secretary, Home Department Smt. Neha Champawat, Commissioner, Samagra Shiksha Smt. Kiran Kaushal, along with officials from the Education, Health, Panchayat and Rural Development and other departments.
