Vistaar Project Organizes Training Of Trainers In Adolescent Nutrition

The northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has a large adolescent population that faces nutritional problems. As part of a state wide effort to address this issue, the IntraHealth-led Vistaar Project, together with the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), organized a one-day Training of Trainers (TOT) on adolescent nutrition issues for medical officers of the health department of the Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP).  Three TOT sessions took place from November 4 -6, 2008, with 128 medical officers from 71 districts participating.  The sessions taught the medical officers how to plan, design and conduct adolescent health and nutrition training for school teachers.

Chosen in consultation with the State NRHM Mission Director, the content of the TOT focused on adolescent health challenges, the importance of nutrition for adolescent girls, orientation on GoUP’s new Saloni Swasth Kishori Yojana (a health and nutrition program for adolescent girls ), and other existing interventions on adolescent health and nutrition, personal hygiene and cleanliness. The participants also received guidance on participatory training techniques, including effective use of communication materials.

Feedback from the training showed that 96% of the participants rated the training program content and methods as excellent. While trainees found the topics covered in the training program appropriate and useful, most of them thought the program was too short, and that it should run for at least for two days to cover the subjects adequately. Participants requested more communication materials such as posters, charts and flip books on adolescent health and nutrition.

Adolescent nutritional problems are common throughout India, with a series of serious nutritional challenges affecting their growth and development.  Yet adolescents, especially girls, remain a largely neglected and hard to reach population. The TOT was part of a series of activities planned by the NRHM/ GoUP in the statewide roll-out of Saloni Swasth Kishori Yojana. This program focused on de-worming and weekly supplementation of iron folic acid (IFA) to school-going girls (through the Education Department) and non-school-going girls (through NRHM frontline workers—Accredited Social Health Activists [ASHAs] and nongovernmental organization partners).   Continued education of adolescent girls on health, nutrition and personal hygiene issues through Saloni Sabhas (adolescent forums) at school and village levels have been proposed. ASHAs will receive monthly incentives for organizing these sabhas and for ensuring consumption of IFAs by non-school-going girls.