Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh has set a unique and historic campaign against anemia under Mission Shakti 5.0. In this campaign led by District Magistrate Dharmendra Pratap Singh and Chief Development Officer Dr. Aparajita Singh Sinsinwar, lakhs of women consumed the tablet of iron folic acid (IFA) in the entire district with lemonade.
It not only became a symbol of health awareness, but it was shown that it is possible to solve the biggest challenges with collective efforts. The prevalence of this campaign was unprecedented. The district (1,068 Panchayat Bhawan), (2,267 schools), (2,663 Anganwadi centers), (300 Arogya Temple) and (more than 300 private colleges) attended it. Officers, doctors and frontline workers started the campaign by taking a bullet themselves and about 3.6 lakh women participated in this campaign.
IFA shot to women for free
The special arrangement of the campaign was that every woman was given a strip of IFA bullet free of cost. To ensure the continuity of intake, it has been decided that women return empty blister packet to Panchayat Bhavan and get a new strip every 11th day. This system has strengthened both discipline and accountability.
Special attention was also paid to explaining health information in an easy way. Women were told not to take the tablet with tea, coffee or calcium, but on taking amla, sour fruit or lemonade, its effect increases manifold. In this way, the message was made simple and memorable by connecting science and tradition.
Women added digital
Digital facility was also added to modernize the campaign. A portal was created for registration of women, from where she could download her certificate. By 2 pm on the day of the campaign, 2.65 lakh certificates were downloaded. The certificate was registered on the certificate, on the basis of which the participants were included in the lucky draw. In this, attractive gifts like fridge, washing machine and television were kept. From house to house QR codes were also delivered to make the facility easier.
Rangoli, photography and social media competitions were also organized to increase the participation of youth and general public. Due to this, the campaign was not only a health program, but became a mass movement of the entire district.
The initiative of Shahjahanpur proves that when administration, society and science work together, a new story of change can be written. This effort under Mission Shakti 5.0 has emerged as an inspiring model for the entire state and the country.