With an aim to ensure survival, health and nutrition as an inalienable right of every child and special care for kids caught in sectarian violence, the government is all set to clear National Policy for Children 2012, which is high on the agenda of the Union Cabinet that will meet on Thursday.

Sources in the government confirmed that a proposal on the issue from the ministry of women and child development (WSD) is likely to be taken up for consideration at the meeting of the Union Cabinet, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

India has registered higher infant and child mortality rates than Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Further the country’s position on the measure of the percentage of underweight and severely underweight children during the period 2006-10 was more than twice than that in the Sub-Saharan African region.

This was revealed in the Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s performance audit of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme — Union Ministry of Women and Child Development’s flagship programme — that was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday. The report contains results of performance audit conducted between 2006-07 and 2010-11.

The Cabinet will take up the proposal for a National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) on Thursday. It will cater to the 37.7 crore urban population and will be a sub-mission of an overarching National Health Mission (NHM) for urban and rural areas.

In a potentially contentious proposal and a shift from NRHM, where public health facilities are the sole service providers, NUHM is proposed to have provisions for public-private partnerships to fill infrastructure gaps.

“If India wants to become a superpower, we have to ensure that there are no malnourished children in our country; and for that each Indian has to do his/her bit,” said Bollywood actor Aamir Khan sp

With an outlay of Rs 117,707 crore for women and child development, including Rs 108,503 crore for flagship nutrition programme ICDS, the 12th plan document stresses on the need for convergent acti

Unspent funds declared by several State governments across the country released under the Central Government’s Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Schemes has now prompted the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to consider sanctioning funds directly to non-government organisations working in the States.

Ministry secretary Prem Narain said: “ICDS is one of our flagship programmes and the Ministry is working at ensuring that the targeted audience are able to benefit from its restructuring that we are undertaking.”

On the lines of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), India will now have a dedicated mission for the implementation of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) to boost child nutrition a

Centre to soon launch website offering health solutions

If nutrition experts have left you confused about what to eat, how much to eat and when to eat, the Union Ministry of Women & Child Development’s soon-to-be-launched website might be your one-stop solution. All set to launch a nutrition platform on September 7, this interactive website will offer a knowledge bank, library and e-forum to those in the business of nutrition and the ones interested in eating right to stay healthy.

Months after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called malnourishment among children a national shame, the Union Ministry of Women & Child Development (WCD) has now written to the Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories asking them to get “serious about fighting malnourishment especially among the children and women”.

WCD secretary Prem Narain said: “We have issued written instructions on Tuesday to all senior officials concerned and various Ministries to ensure that they contribute positively in the fight against this great challenge that the country faces today.

Concerned regarding the rights of children under the age of 6 years, civil society groups have asked the government to focus on a comprehensive approach towards providing a sound foundation for sur