Nutrition on Wheels

Program Overview

Health on Wheels is a mobile, community-centered healthcare initiative designed to bring essential maternal,
child, and adolescent healthcare to the remote tribal villages of Khunti district. The program delivers
doorstep medical care, nutritional support, growth monitoring, and behavior change interventions to communities
that remain beyond the reach of fixed healthcare facilities.

The aim is to ensure that every mother, child, and family receives timely, continuous, and culturally grounded
care through mobile health vans, frontline worker engagement, and deep community participation.

Key Objectives

• Improve access to quality maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent healthcare in remote villages
• Strengthen nutrition practices through screenings, growth monitoring, counselling, and nutrition kit distribution
• Identify and manage high-risk pregnancies and malnourished children at an early stage
• Promote institutional deliveries and awareness of schemes like Janani Suraksha Yojana
• Improve nutritional status of children aged 0–6 and prevent relapse
• Strengthen IYCN indicators through breastfeeding & complementary feeding awareness
• Reduce low-birth-weight cases through improved protein intake and monitoring
• Track and support low-birth-weight babies to reduce infant mortality
• Build capacity of FLWs in growth monitoring, IYCF, anemia detection, and counselling
• Promote sustainable nutrition through Poshan Vatikas and model nutrition gardens
• Support long-term recovery through home visits, digital tracking, and follow-up
• Strengthen community engagement through culturally aligned outreach & local leadership

Our Approach

Health on Wheels follows an integrated model that combines doorstep healthcare, nutrition support, behavior change,
and livelihood-oriented nutrition solutions. Our approach includes:

• Mobile health vans delivering antenatal, postnatal, pediatric, and general medical services
• Regular anthropometry, growth monitoring, and personalized nutrition counselling
• Transport support and doctor accompaniment for high-risk pregnancy cases
• Distribution of nutrition kits containing eggs, lentils, and seed packets
• Home visits, follow-ups, and digital beneficiary tracking
• Capacity building of frontline workers for long-term continuity
• Cultural engagement through Godbharai, Annaprashan, recipe contests & adolescent health sessions
• Expansion into Pathal Gadi villages through trust-based community-first engagement

Impact & Outcomes

Expanding Access

• 50,000+ individuals reached across 309 villages
• Khunti: 144 villages | Murhu: 127 villages | Arki: 38 villages
• 272 health camps conducted — Khunti: 95 | Murhu: 140 | Arki: 37
• 537 mobile outreach trips conducted in 2 years
• Large-scale doorstep medical services, diagnostics, follow-ups & counselling
• Successful outreach in Pathal Gadi areas through trust-building

Quantitative Reach

Health Outcomes

• 8446 anthropometric screenings conducted
• 687 SUW and 1738 MUW children recovered through therapy
• Significant 15-day weight gain improvements tracked
• 611 frontline workers trained (50% Knowledge Index increase)
• Improved maternal nutrition & supplement adherence
• Previously unregistered pregnant women brought under care networks

Integrated Nutrition + Livelihood Model

• 59 Poshan Vatikas established in homes & Anganwadi Centres
• Surplus vegetable production improving household income
• Eggs, lentils & seed kits regularly distributed to support dietary diversity
• Community-led events strengthening participation & behaviour change

Maternal Health Strengthening

• Personalized counselling on hygiene, nutrition & newborn care
• Early identification and tracking of high-risk pregnancies
• Doctor home visits for remote hamlets
• Continuous postnatal care for safe recovery
• Successful engagement in socially sensitive Pathal Gadi villages

Implementation Partners

Health on Wheels operates through a multi-stakeholder ecosystem that ensures seamless service delivery, strong
governance, and sustained community engagement.

Core Partners

• Better World Foundation: Program design, implementation, monitoring, community outreach, FLW capacity building
• Glenmark Foundation: Funding, technical guidance, nutrition innovations
• District Administration, Khunti: Governance support, convergence, outreach permissions
• District Health Department, Khunti: Medical supervision, referrals, risk-case management
• ICDS Department: FLW coordination, growth monitoring, community nutrition outreach

Looking Forward

• Establishing more village-level nutrition gardens for food autonomy
• Strengthening FLW capacity for independent community-led care
• Enhancing digital tracking for improved recovery cycles
• Introducing tailored interventions for adolescents & high-risk families
• Expanding outreach to unreached hamlets for full inclusion
• Building stronger community ownership to prevent relapse

Health on Wheels is evolving into a scalable, community-driven model delivering lasting improvements in maternal and
child health across rural Jharkhand.

Other Initiatives

• Nutrition on Wheels – Jharkhand
• Nutrition & Health (2021–Ongoing)
• Covid Assistance – Jamui, Bihar (2020–2021)
• Shraddha Program for Migrants (2020–2021)