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Intersectoral coordination meeting to increase service coverage for women and children held at Jammu.”

Jammu 6 January; In an attempt to promote intersectoral coordination between ICDS & health department a meeting was held on the directions of Mr. Gazzanfer Hussain, Commissioner/ Secretaryto Govt. Health & Medical Education department under the Co Chairmanship of Dr Yashpal Sharma, Mission Director NHM, J&K and Dr G N Itoo, Mission Director, ICDS at Nagrota Jammu today.
The meeting was called to increase service coverage for women and children, reducing the unmet need and ensuring better quality of services by both the health & social welfare department in coordinated manner at the grass root, district and state levels.
It was informed by Dr Yashpal Sharma, although there is co-ordination between the ICDS & health department at the field level, particularly in the immunization programme, there is a need for more effective co-ordination between both the departments at district and state levels for implementing the other components of the National Health Mission more effectively which include Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram, Rashtriya Kishore Swasthya Karyakram, Disease Control Programmes. There is considerable overlap in the duties being performed by the AWWs and the ANMs and there is a need to rationalize their roles and responsibilities by ICDS & Health Department, he added.
Dr G N Itoo informed in the meeting that he had designated nodal officers at divisional as well as at district level for effective coordination at all the levels and sought support of National Health Mission in training of ICDS workers for effective implementation of various schemes. It was decided that effective implementation of Mother & Child Protection Card shall be joint responsibility of both the departments.
It was reiterated that the anganwadi centres will continue to serve as the focal point for all health and nutrition services and as part of the National Health Mission, Village Health Sanitation & Nutrition Days (VHSNDs) fixed every month at the AWC to provide antenatal, postnatal, family planning and child health services with active support from ASHAs shall be held in coordinated manner.
The meeting was attended by Joint Director ICDS, Deputy Director (ICDS Plg), Programme Officers of ICDS, Divisional Nodal Officer, NHM, Jammu and Programme Mangers of, State Health Society, J&K.