Nutrition has the most significant impact on the health and development of a child in the first 1,000 days of life.
Without adequate nutrition, brain development is slow and overall physical growth stunted. In rural India, especially in remote villages, children between seven months and three years of age are highly vulnerable to malnutrition. While these children are entitled to Take Home Ration (THR), immunisation and health services, there are several factors that impair their access to these. Chief among such factors are geographical and infrastructural barriers, along with the lack of awareness among caretakers of the children.
Further, the parents of these children leave them with older siblings and grandparents when they go to work. This grossly affects the child’s overall nutrition and development.
Keeping the above factors in mind, the Azim Premji Foundation launched creches that seeks to improve the nutritional status of very vulnerable children in the age group of seven months to three years. The key objectives of this initiative include:
- Ensuring access to safe spaces for children.
- Providing them with three nutritious meals, including an egg, every day.
- Identifying and addressing children with malnutrition through health referrals and regular follow-ups.
Currently, 1,100 such creches are operational across the five states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Odisha. More than 16,000 children are enrolled in these creches. This initiative is being implemented in partnership with 25 civil society organisations.
While our primary focus is to ensure safe spaces for young children with access to nutritious food, a creche has many benefits for communities, including increased livelihood opportunities for young mothers, greater access to entitlements and better health outcomes for children.
Children in the red flag category (severely underweight and wasting) are referred to the Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition facility, Primary Health Centre facility or Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre for follow-up interventions.
Based on the appetite level of the underweight and wasted children, supplementary food is provided intermittently along with extra oil.
Based on its experience of operating creches, the Foundation has consolidated its insights and learnings into a comprehensive set of Creche Operating Protocols. These cover safety and security standards; caregiver practices and training modules; key collaterals and resources, and Shishu Ghar MIS.
The full protocols can be accessed here:
In the remote village of Macchadapanga, Odisha, childhood is being reimagined through care, nutrition, and learning. This short film follows Sreema, a young child whose day unfolds at the creche supported by the Azim Premji Foundation — a safe and nurturing space where children eat three nutritious meals, play and learn together, and are cared for with warmth.
