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The Hindu Editorial Analysis- 12th June 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

The Hindu Editorial Analysis- 12th June 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC

Amplify the subject of adolescent girl nutrition

Why in News?

To unlock the full potential of India’s future, we have to prioritize the health and nutrition of its adolescent girls. Adolescence is a pivotal period of cognitive development and, therefore, improving access to nutrition during this “second window of opportunity of growth” compensates for any nutrient deficiencies acquired during early developmental stages in the girl child. Furthermore, adolescent health is a significant indicator of women’s labour force participation in India in the long term, as better nutrition improves every young girl’s prospect to participate in productive activities.

What is the scheme for adolescent girls?

Sabla Scheme, also known as the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for the development of adolescent girls, is an important government scheme that focuses on the development of young girls between the ages of 11 to 18. The Sabla scheme aims at empowering Adolescent Girls (AGs) through nutrition, health care, and life skills education. The scheme is implemented through Anganwadis Centres (AWc), panchayat community buildings, schools, etc.

Scheme for adolescent girls: Objectives

SABLA scheme empowers young girls by providing them with the necessary means to lead a healthy and meaningful life. The detailed objectives are as follows-

  • Empowering young girls to lead a more productive life
  • Focusing on overall well-being through targeting nutrition and non-nutrition needs
  • Promoting skill development to make adolescent girls self-reliant
  • Upgrading their existing skills and tieing up with the National Skill Development Programme
  • Using the potential of Anganwadis, schools, and panchayat buildings to reach every vulnerable girl
  • Promoting Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health (ARSH), counseling, child care practices among girls
  • Bringing out of schools girls into the education system

Features of the Scheme for Adolescent Girls

Sabla Scheme, also known as the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme, has a multi-dimensional approach to improving the lives of adolescent girls. The following are its features;

  • Providing nutritional supplements regularly in adequate quantity
  • Giving life skills and counseling
  • Providing information on public services like Primary Healthcare Centres, Post Offices, Police Station, and Banks
  • Improving the overall well-being by educating on hygiene and family welfare.
  • Target Group under  SABLA Scheme
    • the age of 11 to 14 years,
    • the age 15 to 18 years.

Services Provided Under the Scheme for Adolescent Girls

In order to cover certain parts of the scheme (like life education and ARSH scheme) in a comprehensive manner, the target group of adolescent girls for the SABLA scheme provides these services

Services under SABLA Scheme

Description

Supplementary Nutrition

It is a main component of the SABLA Scheme.

It may be provided to AGs through Take Home Rations (THR) or Hot Cooked Meals, as appropriate.

If hot-cooked meals are provided, quality requirements have to be fulfilled;

  • Each adolescent girl will receive at least 600 calories and 180 grammes of protein per day, as well as the recommended daily intake of micronutrients, at a cost of Rs 5 per day per beneficiary, for 300 days per year.

Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation

The Government of India has implemented various schemes and programs to address the issue of anaemia among children and adolescents, including the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and the National Nutritional Anaemia Prophylaxis Programme (NNAPP).

 
  • Under the RCH-II scheme of the NRHM, children between the ages of 6 to 10 years and adolescents between the ages of 11 to 18 years have been covered under the NNAPP.

Nutrition and Health Education (NHE)

Nutrition and Health Education (NHE) is an important component of the SABLA Scheme. The aim of NHE is to provide adolescent girls with information and knowledge on proper nutrition, health, hygiene, and other related issues that can impact their overall well-being.

  • Through NHE, adolescent girls are educated on the importance of balanced and healthy diets, and are provided with information on the types of foods that are essential for their growth and development. 

Life Skill education

It is an integral component of the SABLA Scheme. 

  • The main objective of LSE is to provide adolescent girls with the necessary skills and knowledge for accessing public services in Anganwadi centres.
  • These services are provided by Anganwadi centres/NGO/Youth Affairs/Education Setup.
  • 11 to 18 years of age (in-school and out-of-school adolescent girls).

Vocational Training using NSDP

Vocational training based on the National Skill Development Program is provided for a maximum of three years, with the desired level of flexibility in the location to ensure maximum benefit.

  • 16 to 18 years of age (Only for Out-of-school adolescent girls).

Applicability of Scheme for Adolescent Girls

The eligibility criteria for applicants to apply for the SABLA Scheme are as follows:
  • The SABLA Scheme (Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls) scheme is applicable to all adolescent girls between the age group of 11 to 18 years under all Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) projects from selected 200 districts across India on a pilot basis. 
  • The SABLA scheme has further classified the age groups of 11 to 14 years and 14 to 18 years to provide proper attention to each group's specific needs.
  • The SABLA scheme aims to provide non-formal education, health and Nutrition education, life skills education, and vocational Training to empower adolescent girls and improve their overall well-being.
  • In addition, the scheme also targets school-going girls who regularly visit the Anganwadi centers to receive various benefits such as living skills, nourishment tips, education, and awareness of socio-legal issues.

Why is the Scheme for Adolescent Girls Needed?

As per the 2001 census, adolescent girls comprise 16.75% of the total female population. The female literacy rate is only 53.87%, and nearly 2.74 crore girls are undernourished. Also, as per the Global Nutrition Report of 2017, around 51% of women in India are still anaemic (56.2% as per NFHS 3 2005-06)

Also, adolescence is the age when the child is mature enough to understand the need for a healthy lifestyle and mentally developed to learn vocational skills. It is also the age where a healthy lifestyle can be developed as any prevailing health issue can be easily understood and managed through the right guidance and care. Therefore this scheme targets adolescent girls.

About Kishori Diwas

January 8 is celebrated as Kishori Diwas, where health cards are issued at Anganwadi Centres for school-going and non-school-going girls. On this date, awareness about the overall well-being of young adolescent girls is also spread. Anganwadis, a large women's organization, plays a key role here.

About Kishori Health Cards

Kishori means young girl. The health card keeps a track of information related to the height, weight, and body mass index of adolescent girls covered under the Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for the development of adolescent girls. These cards are managed by Anganwadi Centers. The details are used to analyze the effect of the scheme as well as to encourage girls to come to school to learn.

Benefits of the Scheme for adolescent girls
The SABLA scheme benefits are;
  • Meeting dietary needs, especially iron and folic needs of young girls
  • Empowering adolescent girls by educating them about important matters like hygiene, employment-related skills, and family welfare.
  • Empowering woman’s autonomy over their sexual and reproductive health.

Funding for the scheme for adolescent girls

  • The cost of Nutrition is shared 50:50 between the Centre and State as it is a centrally sponsored scheme. For northeastern states, this cost is shared between 90:10
  • For non-nutritional components, the cost is shared between Centre and State in the ratio of 60:40. However, for Northeastern states, it is shared in the ratio of 90:10
  • For UTs without legislation, the funding is 100% by the Centre.

Achievements of the Scheme

  • As per the PIB report, 48,68,553 were the benefactress of the scheme till 2016.
  • In 2010 the scheme was implemented in 205 districts of the country.
  • The success of the scheme made it a pan-India scheme by 2018.
  • The scheme was made digital through a portal called Rapid Reporting System in 2018.
  • Read about the National Health Digital Repository from here!

Concluding Remarks

“Adolescence represents an inner emotional upheaval, a struggle between the eternal human wish to cling to the past and the equally powerful wish to get on with the future.”- Louise J. Kaplan, Psychologist, and author. India Is home to one of the largest adolescent populations in the world and the demographic dividend of such a population can only be utilized if its women are empowered. As adolescence is the age where lots of wrongs can be corrected and a lot many rights can be carried forward, schemes like Sabla should be encouraged. 

The document The Hindu Editorial Analysis- 12th June 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC is a part of the UPSC Course Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly.
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