India must invest strongly in the world’s largest social program on early childhood services
April 2020- Anganwadis are gradually reopening due to closure since the lockdown. In those Karnataka, Bihar and Tamil Nadu Looking to open or open soon. like a part Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)Anganwadis play a vital role in supporting families, especially by providing child care, health and nutrition, education, supplementary nutrition, immunization, health check-up and referral services, especially from low-income families. The largest in the world, ICDS covers around 88 million children in the age group of 0-6 years in India. Their closure had a significant impact on service delivery and weakened an important social safety net.
important source of support
Surveys conducted by IDInsight in five states in November 2018 and November 2019 found that Anganwadi workers were the primary source of nutritional information for families. Even as Anganwadis resume services, the closure has affected their ability to serve as childcare centres. According to National Family Health Service (NFHS)-5 data, less than 15% of five-year-olds attend any pre-primary school in 2019-20. A recent study estimates that the time women spend on unpaid work could increase by 30% during the pandemic. In our COVID-19 rural household surveys across eight states, 58% of women reported home-schooling as the biggest contributor to the increase in unpaid work. Sending young children to Anganwadis will free up women’s time including economic activities. Early childhood, from birth to the age of five, is a critical developmental window. As a platform for early childhood education and nutritional support, Anganwadis can play an important role in helping children achieve their potential. The National Policy on Education, 2020, puts Anganwadis at the center of universalizing access to Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). Last week, the government proposed a phased rollout of the ECCE program in all anganwadis, covering one-fifth of each year, starting from 2021-22.
Even as we acknowledge their heroic work and insist on an immediate reopening, we need to offer solutions to their myriad challenges. Despite being the primary source of information on nutrition, anganwadi workers may lack critical knowledge – as shown by studies in Delhi and Bihar. The surveys we conducted in 2018-19 found that among mothers enlisted with anganwadi workers, knowledge about key health behaviors such as complementary feeding and hand washing was low, at 54% and 49%. Anganwadi workers often do not have the support or training to provide ECCE. Administrative responsibilities take a significant amount of time, and priority is given to core services such as pre-school education. A typical worker spends an estimated 10% of his or her time – 28 minutes per day – on pre-school education, compared to the recommended daily 120 minutes. Anganwadis often lack adequate infrastructure. NITI Aayog found that only 59% of Anganwadis had adequate seating for children and workers, and more than half were unhygienic. As per NFHS-IV data, in the urban context, the utilization of early childcare services in Anganwadis is only 28%, while it is 42% in rural areas.
Deep Impact
When Anganwadis reopen, we must prioritize interventions with a demonstrated history of success, and evaluate new ones. Studies conducted in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh (and globally) have found that home visits, where volunteers work with children and caregivers, significantly improved cognition, language, motor development and nutritional intake while stunting has also been reduced. Recent initiatives regarding home-based newborn and young child care are promising, but they need to be extended beyond the first few months of a child’s life, with seamless coordination with anganwadi workers.
Many states have to improve career incentives and remuneration for Anganwadi workers. One way to ensure that they have more time is to hire additional workers in anganwadis. A recent study in Tamil Nadu found that an additional worker dedicated to pre-school education yielded cost-effective gains in both learning and nutrition.
Policy makers have attempted to link anganwadis and primary schools to strengthen convergence as well as extend the duration of daycare in anganwadis. Reaching women during pregnancy may increase the chances of their children using ICDS services – as has been tried in Tamil Nadu. To boost coverage as they reopen, the massive enrollment campaign, which works in Gujarat, can help mobilize deserving children.
As the world’s largest provider of early childhood services, Anganwadis play a vital role in contributing to the life outcomes of children across India. To improve these outcomes, we need to make more significant investments in anganwadis, and roll out proven innovative interventions.
Divya Nair is the director of IDinsight. Nina Badgaiyan is a former senior advisor to NITI Aayog. views expressed are personal
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