Sri Aurobindo Society – Auro Centre for Public Nutrition, Public Health and Public Policy (SAS-ACPN)

has signed an Agreement with

Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)

for setting up a

Community Resource Centre for Women for COVID 19 Protection, Gender and Nutrition, in Vanur Block, Viluppuram District, Tamil Nadu, supported by GAIN.

This project aims to:

Provide information and awareness to Women SHGs/Community Organizations at community level regarding critical gender and nutrition issues, particularly for improvement of diets within families by explaining the importance of macro and micronutrients in daily diet; better health and nutritional status for mothers, children, adolescents and adults, and minimize the adverse effects of COVID 19 and its aftermath.
This platform will also be used for providing women information about the basic general principles of proper child, adolescent and maternal health and nutrition care, and the importance of hygienic sanitation and safe drinking water for proper health and improvement of nutritional status.
A micro food processing unit will be set up at community level to produce affordable nutritious food
Women Self Help Groups will be given knowledge and training about how to prepare affordable nutritious energy food from locally available agricultural produce, such as ragi, green gram, soya beans, and wheat, which can be consumed by the community- children, adolescents, adults and the elderly.

Awareness and Training Programme for Women Self Help Groups held in Vanur Block, Villupuram District

A 2-day training programme for the women of the self-help groups was conducted on September 8 and 9, 2022 at Satyam Community Centre, Vanur.

On the first day, there was an awareness programme was organized on basic family nutrition and health care, especially in the post-Covid situation.

On the second day, the SHG Women were trained to produce family energy food AuroPoshan, from locally available, affordable food grains such as whole wheat, ragi (millet), green gram, defatted soya and a little sugar.

The energy food AuroPoshan has been greatly appreciated by the community. Presently test marketing is going on, and very soon SHG women hope to have a viable marketing plan.