Minister calls for better results in nutritional value

At the inaugural session of the State-level seminar on ‘Accelerating nutrition results in Andhra Pradesh,’ at Novotel in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, Minister for Women and Child Welfare Gummadi Sandhyarani called for better nutritional outcomes. She said that development goes beyond infrastructure and economic growth to include healthy mothers, thriving children, empowered women and a strong future generation.

“The Department is moving beyond a traditional welfare-oriented approach towards human capital development by investing in the health, nutrition, education and capabilities of people.”

Acknowledging Andhra Pradesh’s progress in reducing child malnutrition and strengthening Anganwadi services, the Minister stressed that the next phase must focus on improving service quality, accelerating results, and achieving the still-pending outcomes for vulnerable and underserved populations.

Amid rapid urbanisation, the Minister highlighted urban nutrition as a key priority, noting that migrant families, mobile populations and vulnerable urban communities require more flexible and responsive service-delivery approaches.

The Minister called for an extensive approach addressing anaemia, healthy diet, menstrual health, life skills, prevention of child marriage and early pregnancy, and advanced educational and livelihood opportunities. The State’s initiatives, including Kishori Vikasam, Sakhi and YUVA groups, and the Child Marriage Free Andhra Pradesh campaign, provide a base for further strengthening adolescent development and empowerment.

Underscoring quality improvement in nutrition services, the Minister called for a shift from coverage-focused delivery towards trackable outcomes through stronger standards, supportive supervision, frontline worker capacity building and effective use of data. The Minister also stressed that nutrition outcomes require coordinated action by departments, local bodies, community organisations, NGOs, and development partners to address pending results.

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This article is written by Senior Journalist Lakkoju Nagesh Babu