Rautahat, July 10

Golden Thousand Days programme has become more effective this year in Rautahat district after District Coordination Committee started monitoring the project.

The programme was introduced to save pregnant women of impoverished and marginalised communities and babies up to two years from malnutrition.

The programme has been implemented at Laxmipur, Belbichhaya, Brahmapuri, Mudbalwa of Gaur Municipality, Badharwa of Durgabhagawati Rural Municipality, Pipararajawada, Jokaha, Banjaraha, Pipra, Bhagawanpur, Kanakpur, Simrabhawanipur, Bishrampur, Piprapokhariya, Jetharahiya, Sitalpur Bairganiya of Madhab Narayan Rural Municipality, among other villages in Rautahat.

Chairperson of Breast feeding programme group Laxmi Devi Patel said that the programme was less effective in the past years. “But it became more effective after the target groups were motivated through different awareness programmes organised in villages,” she added.

Focal Person at District Coordination Committee Subash Thakur said the Golden Thousand Days programme, which was financially supported by World Bank and UNICEF, would be operated under municipalities and rural municipalities from new fiscal.

District coordinator of multi regional nutrition project Hemanta Jha said village coaches deployed in the villages motivated the target groups and told them about the benefits along with regular monitoring.

Meanwhile, Local Development Officer Umesh Basnet at District Coordination Committee said Golden Thousand Days programme and Multi-regional Nutrition Project would get continuation as these programmes turned out to be effective this year.