Bengaluru: ITC Ltd, in collaboration with the Institute of Global Development, successfully concluded the Aashirvaad Smart India Program. Launched in October 2024, the initiative aimed at raising awareness on iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) and promoting healthy eating practices across 30 districts in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
Over a short span of just seven months, the program surpassed its initial target, positively impacting over 7.5 lakh individuals, including pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls, and boys, through innovative and scalable interventions. The initiative was designed to drive widespread awareness about iodine deficiency disorders, the benefits of iodine, other key micronutrients, holistic nutrition, and healthy eating practices. To execute the same, the initiative was built on a robust, multi-pronged approach that combined community education, cultural integration, technological innovation, and capacity building to ensure lasting behaviour change and community ownership of health outcomes.
The program employed a multi-pronged outreach strategy to ensure deep community engagement. Key highlights of the outreach included:
• Community Education through Flipbook-Led Sessions: Interactive group education sessions led by trained facilitators using an engaging flipbook to simplify complex nutrition principles for pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls, and boys. These sessions played a crucial role in dispelling myths and promoting healthier choices related to iodine intake as part of overall health and wellbeing
• Over 1,100 street plays were conducted, creatively delivering health messages tailored to local cultures through folk plays.
• 244 Poshan Melas were organized, celebrating nutrition awareness through live demonstrations and participatory activities.
• School-Based Engagement: 67 school education sessions interacting with young students and 42 wall paintings, along with 48 smart boards were installed in schools to engage young minds and enable interactive digital learning on nutrition. This was aided with classroom science-based demonstrations on identifying an iodized salt while explaining importance of balanced diets made with Iodized Salt as a delivery mechanism for adequate iodine intake in day-to-day life.
• 5,462 frontline workers trained across 33 sessions, equipping them to champion nutrition education within their communities effectively.
• Technology-Enabled Communication: To extend the reach of the messages beyond in-person activities, the program leveraged technology-based interventions. Pre-recorded audio messages on iodine and healthy eating were disseminated to over 48,000 individuals, while short text messages were sent to more than 39,000 individuals, reinforcing key health messages and encouraging daily behaviour changes.
In addition, the program’s achievements were marked by its recognition at a national conference in Belagavi, Karnataka, and further amplified through its telecast with 30 dedicated shows across leading news channel in Kannada and Telugu reaching out to ~8 lakh viewers. These broadcasts played a pivotal role in spreading awareness, showcasing success stories, and encouraging thousands more to prioritise nutrition and health in their daily lives.
Dr. Agatha Betsy, Lead, Nutrition Sciences, ITC Limited, said on the success of the campaign, “The Aashirvaad Smart India Program reaffirms our belief that strong collaborations, community-centric approaches, and localised, education-driven interventions can be key drivers of meaningful transformation in India’s health and nutrition landscape. By addressing long-standing misconceptions and equipping key stakeholders with the right knowledge and tools, we are proud to have empowered lakhs of individuals, including young minds, to make informed dietary choices. In just seven months, we’ve seen communities become more aware, engaged, and proactive about their nutrition requirement and choices. That, to us, is true and lasting progress. As a responsible, leading Food brand, we look forward to continuing this journey of supporting positive change in wellbeing and health.”
