Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) is a government program in India which provides nutritional meals,
preschool
A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...
education,
primary healthcare
Primary health care, or PHC, refers to "essential health care" that is based on scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology. This makes universal health care accessible to all individuals and families in a community. PHC in ...
, immunization, health check-up and referral services to children under 6 years of age and their mothers.
The scheme was launched in 1975, discontinued in 1978 by the government of Morarji Desai, and then relaunched by the Tenth Five Year Plan.
Tenth five-year plan also linked ICDS to ''
Anganwadi
An Anganwadi is a type of rural child care centre in India. They were started by the Indian government in 1975 as part of the Integrated Child Development Services program to combat child hunger and malnutrition. ''Anganwadi'' in H ...
'' centres established mainly in rural areas and staffed with frontline workers.
In addition to improving
child nutrition
Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...
and immunization, the programme is also intended to combat
gender inequality
Gender inequality is the social phenomenon in which men and women are not treated equally. The treatment may arise from distinctions regarding biology, psychology, or cultural norms prevalent in the society. Some of these distinctions are empi ...
by providing girls the same resources as boys.
A 2005 study found that the ICDS programme was not particularly effective in reducing malnutrition, largely because of implementation problems and because the poorest states had received the least coverage and funding.
During the 2018–19
fiscal year
A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
, the Indian federal government allocated to the programme, which is 60% of the funding for the programme while the states allocated the remaining 40%. The widespread network of ICDS has an important role in combating malnutrition especially for children of weaker groups.
Background
The
infant mortality rate
Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of 1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the probability of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five morta ...
of Indian children is 34 and the under-five mortality rate is 39 and 25% of newborn children are underweight among other nutritional, immunization and educational deficiencies of children in India. Figures for India are below the standards of the developed world.
[
ICDS was launched in 1975] in accordance to the National Policy for Children in India. Over the years it has grown into one of the largest integrated family and community welfare schemes in the world. Given its effectiveness over the last few decades, Government of India has committed towards ensuring universal availability of the programme.
Scope of services
The following services are sponsored under ICDS to help achieve its objectives:[
# Supplementary nutrition
# Nutrition and Health Education
# Immunisation
# Health checkup
# Referral services
# Pre-school education(Non-Formal)
# Contraceptive counselling for adolescents
]
Implementation
For nutritional purposes ICDS provides 500 kilocalories (with 12–15 grams of protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
) every day to every child from 6 months to 6 years of age. For adolescent girls in the age group of 10 to 19, 6 kilograms of food grain is given every months.
The services of Immunisation, Health Check-up and Referral Services delivered through Public Health Infrastructure under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is an Indian government ministry charged with health policy in India. It is also responsible for all government programs relating to family planning in India.
The Minister of Health and Family Welfare ...
. UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
has provided essential supplies for the ICDS scheme since 1975. World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
has also assisted with the financial and technical support for the programme. The cost of ICDS programme averages $10–$22 per child a year. The scheme is Centrally sponsored with the state governments contributing up to per day per child.
Furthermore, in 2008, the GOI adopted the World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
standards for measuring and monitoring the child growth and development, both for the ICDS and the National Rural Health Mission
The National Health Mission (NHM) was launched by the government of India in 2005 subsuming the National Rural Health Mission and National Urban Health Mission. It was further extended in March 2018, to continue until March 2020. It is headed b ...
(NRHM). These standards were developed by WHO through an intensive study of six developing countries since 1997. They are known as New WHO Child Growth Standard and measure of physical growth, nutritional status and motor development of children from birth to 5 years age.
Challenges
Despite increasing funding over the past three decades, the ICDS fell short of its stated objectives and still faces a number of challenges. Also, though it has widespread coverage, operational gaps mean that service delivery is not consistent in quality and quantity across the country.
Impact
By end of 2010, the programme is claiming to reach 80.6 lakh expectant and lactating mothers along with 3.93 crore children (under 6 years of age). There are 6,719 operational projects with 1,241,749 operational Aanganwadi
An Anganwadi is a type of rural child care centre in India. They were started by the Indian government in 1975 as part of the Integrated Child Development Services program to combat child hunger and malnutrition. ''Anganwadi'' in Hi ...
centres.[ Several positive benefits of the programme have been documented and reported
* A study in ]Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
and Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
demonstrated significant improvement in the mental and social development of all children irrespective of their gender.[
* A 1992 study of ]National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development
The National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) is an Indian government agency in New Delhi under the Ministry of Women and Children Development tasked with promotion of voluntary action research, training and documen ...
confirmed improvements in birth-weight and infant mortality of Indian children along with improved immunization and nutrition.[
*Several studies have shown that ICDS can improve long-term health and educational outcomes of adolescents and adults.]
However, World Bank has also highlighted certain key shortcomings of the programme including inability to target the girl child improvements, participation of wealthier and middle-class children more than low-income children and lowest level of funding for the poorest and the most undernourished states of India.
See also
* 15 point Programme for minorities
*Balwadi Nutrition Programme The Balwadi Nutrition Programme is a healthcare and education programme launched by the Government of India to provide food supplements at Balwadis to children of the age group 3–6 years in rural areas.
This program was started in 1970 under the ...
*Malnutrition in India
Despite India's 50% increase in GDP since 2013, more than one third of the world's malnourished children live in India. Among these, half of the children under three years old are underweight.
One of the major causes for malnutrition in India ...
* Malnutrition in India (Section ICDS)
*Mina Swaminathan
Mina Swaminathan ( ta, மீனா சுவாமிநாதன்; 29 March 1933 – 14 March 2022) was an Indian educationist in the field of pre-school education. As a teacher at St. Thomas's School, New Delhi, she developed methods usi ...
* School Meals in India
References
External links
UNICEF India ICDS
National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development
ICDS in Maharashtra
{{Authority control
Child welfare in India
Children's rights instruments
Government agencies established in 1975
Health programmes in India
Government schemes in India
Child development organizations
1975 establishments in India