Doctors turn a blind eye to 71 per cent anganwadis: Niti Aayog

New Delhi: A study by the government think tank Niti Aayog has found that doctors do not visit at least 71 per cent of anganwadi centres being run under the Integrated Child Development Services, or ICDS.

The Niti Aayog conducted the study from 2013 to 2016. The ICDS provides food, preschool education, and primary healthcare to children under six years and their mothers.

The study found 51.8 per cent of AWCs in bad hygiene conditions, and 60 per cent AWCs located in rented accommodations.

The review, whose details have been accessed by this newspaper, also found that 41 per cent of the AWCs don’t have adequate space to accommodate children.

The Niti Aayog study said that much before Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in October 2014, people in villages were already aware of the link between water-borne diseases and open defecation.

They were also aware of the significance of having a toilet in rural households through campaigns run under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, or NBA.

The NBA, launched by the United Progressive Alliance government, was the earlier avatar of SBM.

The NBA’s core focus was the same — to provide access to toilets in rural households and government schools.

The study found that under the NBA, through greater awareness, rural households showed improved sanitary and hygienic behaviour, which motivated them to build toilets and reduce open defecation.

The NBA was renamed SBM by the National Democratic Alliance government. The UPA’s NBA was initially titled Total Sanitation Campaign, which was launched by the first NDA dispensation of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999.

The scheme may have underwent changes in nomenclature, but its core focus remains the same — providing access to water to rural households, toilets in villages, sanitation facilities in government schools and AWCs in rural areas.

It also promotes solid and liquid waste management in villages.