Project Vatsalya

Campaign Story

About the project

The Datia district of Madhya Pradesh has a predominantly tribal population. Limited access to quality healthcare infrastructure, a shortage of skilled health workers, and a lack of awareness among community members about government health programs have led to poor nutritional outcomes for mothers and children. As a result, the region experiences higher rates of maternal and child mortality, and child morbidity.

Making a difference

CRY America’s Project Vatsalya focuses on improving healthcare access and providing nutritional support to women and children across 15 villages in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia district. Key interventions under this initiative include identifying high-risk pregnancies, promoting regular Ante-Natal Care (ANC) & Post Natal Care (PNC), ensuring institutional deliveries, organizing Village Health and Nutrition Days (VHND), and facilitating immunization for newborns. The project also runs awareness campaigns around sanitation and hygiene. Additionally, Project Vatsalya emphasizes the formation of Adolescent Girl Collectives and Mother’s Groups to raise awareness on menstrual hygiene and pregnancy care.

The way forward

● Orient 30 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) on VHSNC functioning, roles, and responsibilities.
● Conduct monthly sessions with 114 pregnant and lactating women to monitor their health progress.
● Build the capacity of 25 health team members on verbal autopsy, home-based newborn care, home-based young child care, VHSNCs, and Jan Arogya Samitis (JAS).
● Track 100 pregnant women, ensuring at least 4 ANC check-ups, with focused support for high-risk cases, along with access to immunisation, Iron Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation, and safe institutional deliveries.
● Track 105 newborns, ensuring proper home- and facility-based postnatal care.
Conduct a one-day training for 41 ASHA workers on malnutrition and anemia.
● Ensure growth tracking for 1,286 children, with six-monthly monitoring for all children aged 0–5 years.
● Conduct a one-day orientation for 30 Adolescent Champions on anemia and nutrition.
● Strengthen anemia prevention across 5 villages by tracking 500 children (0–5 and 11–18 years).

Project Impact

1,317

Children aged 6–36 months registered with Anganwadis received Take Home Rations.

666

Pregnant and lactating mothers attended Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Day (VHSND) sessions.

340

Women accessed their first ANC check-up.

68

High-risk pregnancies safely managed and delivered.

187

Institutional deliveries ensured.

138

Adolescent girls attended anemia screening sessions.

380

Children aged 0–1 year immunised.

333

Community members sensitized on early marriage and early pregnancy.

36

Children moved from the Severely Underweight to Moderately Underweight category.

81

Moderately Underweight children moved to full recovery.

365

Children and adolescents in collectives.

Last year’s disbursed grant for Jan ‘25 to Dec ‘25: $32,609

This year’s approved budget for Jan ‘26 to Dec ‘26:

Health$31,401

Administration$5,361

Total Budget$36,762

From hesitation to healing

Nivari, a tribal dominated village in Datia district, faces ongoing challenges of seasonal migration, poverty, and food insecurity. These conditions often affect the health and nutrition of young children. During a routine growth monitoring visit, the CRY America project team identified six children under five years in the Severely Underweight category and supported their admission to the Nutrition Rehabilitation Center.

However, one child’s condition had already worsened due to prolonged undernutrition and the child passed away. This incident deeply affected the community. With limited awareness of institutional care, fear and doubt began to grow among families. Within forty eight hours, 4 families chose to bring their children back home, placing their trust in familiar traditional practices. Recognizing the urgency, the project team reached out to the Chief Medical and Health Officer and the District Program Officer to support counseling efforts. While 2 families agreed to continue treatment, others remained unsure. To respond to this, the team supported the setup of a temporary care space within the community for 14 days so that children could receive care in a more familiar environment.

With the support of frontline health workers, children received regular nutrition, close monitoring, and caregivers were guided on feeding practices. A nutrition camp was also organized in the community to build awareness on balanced diets and child care. Gradually, the children began to recover, and all 4 progressed to the Moderately Underweight category, eventually achieving full recovery. Over time, these efforts helped rebuild trust and encouraged families to seek timely care and support for their children.

Project Photo Gallery