Sustaining Jan Andolan through digital waves: A digital platform for continuing interface with potential program participants for nutritional and early childhood development counselling even during COVID-19 pandemic

Shashwat Kulkarni, Department of Women and Child Development, Government of Maharashtra

1. DELIVERING FOR NUTRITION IN SOUTH ASIA
Implementation Research in the Context of COVID -19
26
th
November 2021
Shashwat Kulkarni
A digital platform for continuing interface with potential
program participants for nutritional and early childhood
development counselling even during COVID-19 pandemic
Sustaining Jan Andolan
through digital waves
Speaker
picture-in-picture

2. •Maharashtra has witnessed heavy tally and toll due to COVID-19 causing disruption
of Anganwadi services: counselling services, IEC activities, ECD
•Child's first 1000 days is crucial period for their holistic development –Window of
opportunity cannot be missed due to the pandemic
•Social media and other electronic media : information overload and created confusion
among parents
•Efforts for counselling services through WhatsApp group: Difficult to assess the
reach and the quality of counselling services and IEC material shared
•Launched “Tarang SuposhitMaharashtracha” -A digital platform for continuing
interface with potential beneficiaries for nutritional and ECD counselling which makes
government authorized information easily accessible as an adaptation to COVID-19.
•Important step towards “tele-nutrition” to achieve goals of “Saksham Mahila, Sudrud
Balak, SuposhitMaharashtra”
Background

3. •IVRhelpline,broadcastcalls,WhatsAppchatbot,andsocial
mediahandles
•CallorsendaWhatsAppmessageat8080809063
•Auto-generatedbroadcastcallsreachbeneficiarieswith
targetedmessages
•IECmaterialdisseminatedintheformofaudio,video,poster,
text,etc.basedonmultipledimensionsassociatedwith
nutritionandECD
•“EkGhasMayecha-FeedingwithCare”specialrecipevideo
series
•Intergenerationalinfluencers:“AajibaichyaGujgoshti-
Grandma’sstories”animatedvideoseries
Reach of 9 lakh beneficiaries per month at Rs. 4/-per child per
year
TarangSuposhitMaharashtracha

4. ✓Conducted market research to understand the financial viability of the project
✓Content creation, pre-testing and cataloging of existing IEC material -voice overs for
IVR and Broadcast calls, “Ek GhasMayecha-Feeding with Care” recipe video series,
“AajibaichyaGujgoshti-Grandma’s stories” animated video series
✓Setting up of the digital platforms –IVR, Broadcast calls, WhatsApp chatbot
✓Capacity building of frontline workers and monitoring the implementation for better
reach
Implementation

5. Monitoring Dashboard

6. ❖WhatsApp chatbot has seen 1.3 Million users and 37 million messages
❖2.1 Million people have called on the IVR Helpline
❖Targeted counselling calls have reached more than 3.8 Million people
❖“EkGhasMayecha-Feeding with care” recipe video series reached more than 50000
people and helped in explaining nutritious recipes and responsive feeding.
❖“AajibaichyaGujgoshti” –“Grandma’s stories” animated video series reached more
than 30000 people and addressed myths related to children's first 1000 days in the
context of COVID-19
Results Achieved

7. Social Audit through digital platforms

8. •Integration of digital platforms to strengthen CBE, VHSND, and other SBCC
activities to achieve Poshan Abhiyaan goals
•Promotion of the digital platforms during home visits –empowering mothers to
access nutritional and ECD information at fingertips
•Expansion to include other programs/ issues -Women rights, child rights,
other department SBCC initiatives
•Developing dashboard to monitor district and block wise reach
Way Forward