Utilization of ICDS scheme in children one to six years of age in a rural block of central India.

The evaluation of nutritional and immunization services was undertaken in the rural ICDS block Sanwer (Madhya Pradesh) where the project is functioning from last 3 years. A door to door survey was conducted in 1993 in six Anganwadi areas in ICDS block and five randomly selected matched non ICDS rural area served as controls. There were a total of 709 children in ICDS and 500 in non ICDS block in 1-6 years age group. The difference was not statistically significant for nutritional status in the two blocks, but a remarkably better immunization status (p < 0.005) was observed in non ICDS block. The coverage for DPT (3 doses), and measles vaccination in ICDS block was 79.57% and 45.7%, respectively, while in non ICDS block it was 94.4% and 62.03%, respectively. It seems the ICDS scheme is under utilized by the community and requires immediate attention by the health authorities.