Kotwada Health Post Becomes Kalikot’s First Nutrition-Friendly Health Facility

A health post at Kotwada of Naraharinath rural municipality-1 in Kalikot district has been declared Kalikot’s first nutrition-friendly health facility.

According to an Information Officer at Kalikot Health Office, Katak Mahat, the Kotbada Health Post received the designation after fulfilling all requirements set by the ‘Nutrition-Friendly Health Facility Implementation Guidelines-2079BS’.

Similarly, Health Service Manager at Kalikot Health Office, Dr Ratnabir Sunar, explained that the key criteria for the recognition include ensuring the pregnant women and new mothers, particularly during the critical first 1,000 days, receive regular health checkups and nutrition counseling at health facilities.

Other criteria require that the infants be exclusively breastfed for the first six months followed by appropriate complementary feeding. Children’s nutritional status must also be within a healthy range, added Dr Sunar.

The guideline also emphasizes the importance of maintaining a clean environment, ensuring access to safe drinking water and achieving an open defecation-free status within the ward to achieve nutrition-friendly status.

Dr Sunar mentioned that increasing the use of locally produced foods and adopting multi-sectoral approaches to reduce malnutrition are also important factors in achieving nutrition-friendly status. (RSS)