Shillong, August 27: To bring the State closer to attaining the vision of achieving its SDG goals by 2030, through a heightened focus on reducing maternal and child deaths, improving nutrition outcomes, addressing learning outcomes and overall socio-economic development, a two-day Human Development Leadership Programme (HDLP) workshop took place from August 23-24 in Shillong. It may be recalled that the state has constituted a first-of-its-kind Human Development Council headed by the Chief Minister in February this year and as part of this, the 2-day workshop was conducted.
Day 1 of the workshop witnessed participation of Deputy Commissioners from 12 districts, including key state officials: Chief Secretary-D.P Wahlang, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary-Shakil P Ahammad, IAS, Development Commissioner & Principal Secretary-Sampath Kumar, IAS, Commissioner & Secretary- Planning & Finance Vijay Kumar, IAS, Commissioner & Secretary, Education- Vijay Mantri, IAS, and Additional Development Commissioner, Joram Beda IAS, among other key officials. The workshop also witnessed the presence of Health Minister Dr. M Ampareen Lyngdoh.
Day 1 focused on the need to improve nutritional indicators, especially stunting rates among children. To achieve this, the District Nutrition Challenge was assigned to each district, along with targets to achieve, based on the insights given by them on their developmental indicators. The core focus here was the improvement of nutritional indicators, which will be done through a decentralized leadership approach, initiated through joint field visits to vulnerable households as part of HDLP. These visits are aimed at 1) Identifying & addressing systemic challenges causing low development indicators such as anemia, malnutrition, stunting, high-risk pregnancies, teenage pregnancies, housing facilities, SHG coverage, education & learning engagement among children and adolescents as well as poverty 2) Facilitating a convergent cross-departmental approach with enhanced public service motivation to address the identified issues and 3) Mobilizing communities to ensure ownership and intervention to tackle the human development challenges.
Following discussions with the DCs, directions were given to them to decentralize the Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) under the ICDS to ensure that local & nutritious food is made available to the children as well as lactating mothers. The need for decentralization of the SNP was discussed at length and a collective decision was taken for the need to decentralize the ICDS-SNP program, with directions being given to the departments and districts to initiate steps for the same.
In his opening address, the Development Commissioner Mr. Sampath Kumar, IAS, said that since the launch of mission mode “Rescue Mission and CM-SMS programs, maternal deaths reduced by around 50% and infant deaths by 34% from in the last 4 years” He highlighted that the joint field visits to each vulnerable household under the HDLP will help to address problems of all members of a household while aiming to strengthen the citizen-state relationship.
Health Minister Dr. M. Ampareen Lyngdoh highlighted the wealth of data and insights being gathered through the house-to-house visits as part of HDLP joint visits, which is essential for driving strategic decisions and interventions aimed at improving health outcomes across Meghalaya. She advocated for involving MLAs in in-depth research and involving them more effectively in health and development initiatives.
Chief Secretary D.P. Wahlang, IAS, highlighted key health issues, including Meghalaya’s high Total Fertility Rate (TFR). “With about 80,000 new individuals added annually due to TFR, it is important to focus on skill development and a field-oriented approach to meet Meghalaya’s long-term development goals”, he stated. He provided a comprehensive overview of the current development priorities for Meghalaya.
The second day of the workshop focused on the need for and steps to improve nutritional outcomes as part of the District Nutrition Challenge launched on Day 1. The Development Commissioner, while facilitating the workshop, stated, “We need to address stunting to improve learning outcomes among children, and hence, we will set a collective target to increase the average height of children through the District Nutritional Challenge– This will be done through a three-pronged strategy – 1. Promoting effective exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months, 2. Decentralizing the Supplementary Nutrition Program (SNP) under ICDS to ensure that nutritious food is provided through local community participation, and 3. Increasing the consumption of Iron Folic Acid (IFA) supplements among all mothers during the antenatal period and adolescent girls to address anemia ”. The importance of the first 1000-day period was emphasized, spanning from conception to a child’s second birthday- a critical window for ensuring proper nutrition and development.
Explaining the high stunting rates among children in Meghalaya (46.5% as per NFHS-5), the Development Commissioner urged the districts to achieve the “Half a Feet Challenge” by aiming to improve the average height of a child by the age of two years. Currently, the average height of a two-year-old child in Meghalaya is approximately 2.5 ft, compared to an optimal height of 3 ft to be gained by a child of 2 years of age (in the first 1000 days).
A key component of the workshop was a case study exercise facilitated by MD-NHM-Ram Kumar, IAS that simulated scenarios faced by pregnant women in rural Meghalaya. Participants were asked to develop follow-up questions and support strategies for a household dealing with anemia, malnutrition, and school dropout. This session emphasized the importance of asking the right questions during field visits and providing tailored solutions to each household’s unique challenges.
Day 2 witnessed about 140 participants comprising Secretaries and Directors of aforementioned departments and Deputy Commissioners of all 12 districts, Additional Deputy Commissioner/Project Director (DRDA), DM&HO, DPO (ICDS), DSEO, DPM (NHM), DMM (MSRLS), Medical Superintendents, DM&CHOs, MSRLS, DHS, Officials from Social Welfare department, functionaries from ICDS, MSRLS, NHM, MHSSP, UNICEF, Research Fellows from School of Public Policy- UCL, team members from the Public Affairs Center, among others.
