SNEHA Programme Improves Child Nutrition, Immunisation And Maternal Health In Mumbai’s Malvani, Bhiwandi

Mumbai: A community-led health and nutrition programme covering around 60,000 people each across 11,000-14,000 families in Malvani and Bhiwandi has recorded significant improvements in child nutrition, immunisation and maternal health, according to data released by the Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action (SNEHA), a Mumbai-based non-profit working on maternal, child and community health, on Friday.

SNEHA Reports Progress In Child Health And Nutrition Indicators

The programme covered around 4500 children in Malvani and 2500 children in Bhiwandi, with SNEHA working with families to improve access to nutrition, maternal and child health services. The data was presented at SNEHA’s Dissemination Event 2026, themed “Sustaining Impact Through Partnerships.”

Stunting And Underweight Cases Decline Over Five-Year Period

Between 2021-22 and 2025-26, stunting — impaired height growth associated with chronic undernutrition — declined from 30% to 21%, while wasting, or low weight for height generally linked to acute undernutrition, fell from 14% to 11%. Underweight declined from 28% to 22%.

Full immunisation increased from 79% to 93%, while developmental delay fell from 18% to 7%. Maternal anaemia declined from 40% to 17%, early pregnancy registration rose from 45% to 76% and institutional deliveries increased from 88% to 97%.

Programme Focuses On Vulnerable Communities Through Existing Health Systems

SNEHA said the programme was implemented in vulnerable communities facing low education levels, small and overcrowded homes, income constraints and closely spaced pregnancies. Instead of creating parallel systems, the organisation worked through existing Anganwadi Centres and ICDS services, training community volunteers to work alongside government frontline workers.

As the programmes matured, SNEHA shifted from direct intervention to a low-touch, community-led model, helping communities take greater ownership of health and nutrition services. In these areas, stunting fell from 31% to 27%, wasting from 11% to 9% and underweight from 28% to 25%. Full immunisation rose from 84% to 92%.

SNEHA also reported improvements in Anganwadi services through its Adopt an Anganwadi/Saksham Anganwadi initiative. The proportion of mentored centres rated “Medium” or “High” increased from 13% to 53%, while those rated “Very Low” fell from 24% to 3%.

According it SNEHA, its partnership with municipal corporations also strengthened maternal referral systems. Formal referral linkages expanded from one corporation in 2007 to 10 by 2025, while referral tracking improved from 36% in 2014 to 84% in 2023.

Vanessa D'Souza, CEO, SNEHA, said the focus was on ensuring that health gains continued beyond the period of direct intervention. “The emphasis is on working alongside existing systems, building on their strengths, and providing context-specific technical support,” she said.

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