ABSTRACT
Government of India invests substantial resources in the Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) to prevent undernutrition among preschool children. A cross-sectional survey was performed to asses and compare the nutritional status of children (2-6 years) who participated in the SNP, with non-participants. Mothers’ perception of undernutrition and perceived barriers to participation were assessed using health belief model. A sample of mother–children pairs N=144 were randomly recruited from Budruk Taluka, Kondhwa, in Pune, Maharashtra. As per WHO standards under-weight was observed among 36% and 22% of children attending government and private preschools, in addition 28% and 19% were stunted, respectively. Results indicated that a significantly higher proportion children in government centers were underweight (p=0.001) and stunted (p=0.011). Despite agreeing upon the benefits of SNP, mothers of children who were non-participants, perceived the services provided to be of lesser standards. Improving the quality of services and creating awareness among 90mothers about the importance of government services would enable better participation and ensure better utilization of resources.
