Telangana decennial fete: 6.84 lakh pregnant women to get Rs 2,000 KCR nutrition kits

HYDERABAD: KCR nutrition kits, each worth Rs 2,000, will be distributed to pregnant women in the state on a day designated for the health department during the 21-day-long decennial celebrations of Telangana Formation Day, starting from June 2, 2023. The state government will be spending Rs 277 crore on this programme.

Minister for Health T Harish Rao, addressing district collectors and DM&HOs through video conference on Tuesday, announced that these kits, containing one kg of nutri-mix powder, one kg of dates, three bottles of iron syrup, 500 grams of ghee, one cup, 200 grams of peanut jaggery cake and a plastic basket would be distributed among 6.84 lakh women in 111 centres in 24 districts.

The nutrition kits are already in distribution in nine districts where several women were diagnosed with a severe form of anemia. In these nine districts of Adilabad, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Jogulamba Gadwal, Kamareddy, Komaram Bhim Asifabad, Mulugu, Nagarkurnool and Nizamabad, 2.5 lakh kits will be distributed in two phases during the decennial celebrations.

“The kits will be given free of cost two times during the pregnancy for the year 2023-24. The first distribution will be during 14-26 weeks of pregnancy and the second during 27-34 weeks of pregnancy,” the minister said.

The health department has been directed to keep sufficient stocks of these kits, aimed at providing nutrition to pregnant women. These kits were designed to provide much-needed proteins, minerals, vitamins and iron to pregnant women thereby addressing the problem of anemia, prevalent in expecting women.

KCR Kits help reduce mortality

According to a sample survey made by the Union government, mortality rates of mothers have come down from 92 in 2024 to 43 in 2023 after the state started implementing the KCR kits programme. “Telangana stood third among the states that have succeeded in reducing deaths due to lack of nutrition in new mothers. To reduce the numbers, the Chief Minister has designed KCR kits,” Harish Rao said. He added that the new KCR Nutrition kits would further help in reducing mortality.