Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], December 4 (ANI): Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday announced the constitution of state-level advisory board for de-addiction and rehabilitation in the state that will be headed by him.

Addressing a day-long state level workshop on Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition and De-addiction here today, CM Sukhu also declared the Centre of Excellence of Mental Health at Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda as State level nodal institution for De-addiction and rehabilitation.

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He also said that Opioid Substitution Therapy Centre would be established at all medical colleges and district hospitals of the State.

CM Sukhu said that the state government would prepare an action plan for addressing the nutritional concerns of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating mothers and children up to the age of six years besides drug abuse prevention, de-addiction and rehabilitation.

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He also directed the Social Justice and Empowerment Department to formulate a mechanism to ensure the wellbeing of expectant women and their new born up to the age of one year.

"First one thousand days of new born babies are critical, therefore, their health is the priority for the State Government. Government was also contemplating to delegate the powers to the lower level for the procurement of nutritional supplements to ensure good quality of food items being provided to the eligible pregnant women, lactating mothers," he said, according to a release.

The Chief Minister emphasized that there was a need to create awareness at the school level regarding the ill effects of drug abuse. He said that the State Government has initiated a crackdown on drug mafia in the state and many of the culprits had been nabbed.

"It is concerning that young children are falling prey to the drug addiction. The state government is concerned about how to protect them and their families from this. We are also going to establish state of art de-addiction and rehabilitation centre in Kotla Barog of Sirmaur district spread over 150 bighas," he added.

Dr VK Paul, Member of NITI Aayog, stressed the importance of monitoring, training and teamwork to tackle the malnutrition issues in children. He advocated for immediate breastfeeding within the hospital after childbirth and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months.

He said that ASHA workers and Anganwadi workers have a critical role in guiding parents on proper nutrition practices for infants. "Training these workers is essential to ensure that children's growth is monitored and supported effectively," he said.

Dr Paul emphasized the critical role of parental awareness in ensuring child health, urging families to provide nutritious meals at home once a child reaches six months of age. He highlighted the importance of zinc supplementation for children experiencing diarrhoea to prevent nutrient deficiencies. (ANI)

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