Name: Sarbjit Singh Kular
Country: India

Year: 2018
Volume: Volume-5, Issue-2 (July-December)
Page Number: 42-53

Abstract
Realizing the great importance of bringing improvement in children and women’s health
and nutritional status, Integrated Child Development Services (ICSD) Scheme was launched
on 2nd October 1975. The scope of present study is to evaluate the community participation
in ICDS programme. In order to achieve the objectives of the present study, Out of the
fifteen districts covered by the Malwa region Barnala, Mansa, Bathinda, Sangrur, Moga,
Muktsar, Fridkot and Ludhiana has been chosen for the study. A total of 40 villages (05
from each chosen district) were selected on the basis of random. From each village
Anganwadi Worker and village Sarpanch were selected for study. Thus a total of 40
Anganwadi Workers and 40 Villages Sarpanch was in the sample, from all 40 villages which
were having Anganwadi for at least the last 25 years. It was disappointing to find that a
majority (62.50%) of the AWWs did not receive any help from anyone in running the AWCs
at village level. It was also found that a majority (57.50%) of the village Sarpanches did not
visit the AWCs at all. A high majority (97.50%) village Sarpanches answered that there was
no local committee formed to help the AWWs to conduct different activities and again a
high majority (97.50%) village Sarpanches admitted that there was no organization at the
village level to help the AWWs. In this regard, it is recommended that the training of project
ICDS functionaries should be strengthened to impart them specific skills to elicit community
participation and also need to have a short duration preparation phase to raise awareness of
the community regarding ICDS services.