Anganwadi Workers in Karnataka: An Overview

Anganwadi Workers in Karnataka: An Overview

Author Name : Dr. Basavaraj Hanamanthraya

ABSTRACT The word Anganwadi means “courtyard shelter”. They were started by the Indian government in 1975 as part of the Integrated Child Development Services program to combat child hunger and malnutrition to provide basic services to the children as well as to the mothers for proper growth and development. It was launched under the women and child development department to reduce the level of infant and child mortality rates. The integrated Child Development Services Schemes was started in Karnataka on 2nd October 1975 with a pilot project at T. Narasipur in Mysore District with just 100 Anganwadi Centres. Since then, the programme has expanded to all the revenue taluks in the state. Now, There are 62,580 Anganwadi and 3,331 mini-Anganwadi centres in Karnataka, where more than 1 lakh women, including 66, 000 teachers and 60,000 helpers, are employed. The grass root level workers who are called Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) provide the services of ICDS. The place where the services are provided is called Anganwadi. The Anganwadi workers (AWW) is community based voluntary frontline workers of the ICDS programme. She assumes a pivotal role due to her close and continuous contact with the beneficiaries children grow and develop amazingly. Anganwadi workers play the most dominant role in providing basic education, nutrition and ensuring health in rural India. It is quite regrettable and sad to note that despite their social commitment and diligence they are very poorly paid and treated worse than the class fourth employers. That is urgent need that the government should look in the matter with all sympathy and concern. The main aims of Angnawadi centers is to improve the nutritional and health status of children in the age group of 0-6 years. to lay the foundation for proper psychological, physical and social development of the child. to reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school dropout.