District Nutrition Committees

The Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 guidelines released by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD), Government of India highlights the importance of institutionalizing governance mechanisms like the District Nutrition Committee (DNC) in advancing the nutrition agenda at the district level. DNCs mandated in all districts, are expected to serve as multisectoral platforms providing a space for periodic monitoring of nutrition service delivery, tracking progress on nutrition-related indicators, fostering intersectoral convergence, and overseeing the administration of the Poshan program by the District Magistrates.

Programmatic Assessment of District Nutrition Committees

To promote evidence-based strengthening of nutrition governance in Uttar Pradesh, Anuvaad with the guidance from the ICDS Department, GoUP, conduct a Programmatic Assessment of the District Nutrition Committees (DNCs). Spanning across 18 divisions of the state, this assessment involved qualitative interviews with key stakeholders and in person observations of the DNC meetings to qualitatively assess the committees’ overall functioning and effectiveness of the DNC data template.

The full report on the programmatic assessment can be accessed here

This programmatic assessment exemplifies how real-time feedback and evidence from the field were utilized by the ICDS Department, GoUP, to inform programmatic changes in the DNC platform. With the support of Development Partners, the ICDS Department, GoUP has taken proactive steps to strengthen nutrition governance. These include streamlining the DNC template, institutionalization of a format for reporting action taken during the DNCs, improving convergence with line departments and capacity-building initiatives targeting DPOs to optimize data utilization. Additionally, efforts have been directed towards sensitizing DMs and CDOs regarding their respective mandate in DNCs.

National Guidelines for District Nutrition Committees

Anuvaad submitted a report to the MoWCD on the programmatic assessment of DNCs in UP as a best practice for use of data to inform decision making for nutrition governance. MoWCD used the study report to release the National Guidelines for District Nutrition Committees as an addendum to the 2021 Streamlining Guidelines.

District Nutrition Committees

Evidence shows that models for strong nutritional governance have been positively associated with nutritional outcomes. According to Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 guidelines, the District Nutrition Committee (DNC) is a multisectoral platform constituted in all districts to deliberate upon nutrition related indicators, ensure periodic monitoring, effective delivery, intersectoral convergence, and overall administration of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program in the district. As per the guidelines, District Magistrates (DMs) have been made the nodal point in the district for overall monitoring nutrition programs. They are also expected to convene the meetings of the District Nutrition Committees (DNC) with participation of members and experts. Thus, DNCs are now expected to act as a platform to deliberate upon nutrition-related indicators, ensure periodic monitoring, effective delivery, intersectoral convergence, and overall administration of nutrition related programs in the district.

Anuvaad undertook a programmatic assessment of the district nutrition committees at the request of ICDS Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh. A qualitative assessment was undertaken to review the overall functioning of DNCs, understand the role of key stakeholders, and assess the utilization of the DNC template. The study highlights the importance of streamlining district-level review of nutrition indicators, capacity building of district and field-level functionaries and improving accountability of multi-sectoral action undertaken during DNCs. Key findings from the study have led to release of a revised DNC template, standardization of formats for documenting meeting minutes and action taken report, training of District Program Officers (DPOs) on effective use of data and sensitization of DMs and Chief Development Officers (CDOs) regarding their respective mandate in DNCs. Moreover, a new template has been released for divisional level review of the ICDS program. This study has also provided momentum for future initiatives, such as conducting a skill gap assessment for Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) to enhance data collection and entry processes. Access the full report here.