The Anganwadi Programme, started by the Government of India in 1975 as part of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), is a grassroots programme that reaches out to women in rural areas and urban slums, to educate them on matters of basic health and hygiene, nutrition, pre-natal and post-natal maternal and childcare and child rearing.
Angan means courtyard in Hindi and it is the heart of family and community life in the villages of India. This is where the Anganwadi workers gather together women of the community to impart information and provide welfare services.
Over the years, the Anganwadi Programme has played a significant role in changing the lives of those it has reached out to. Infant and child mortality rates have dropped due, in no small measure, to the awareness generated by the Anganwadi Workers on the need for timely immunization. Nutrition and health standards have improved with the introduction of food items like soya nuggets, the emphasis laid on breast milk and the imparting of first aid skills; self-employment schemes have started up in villages.
