A Scalable Programme Incorporating Early Child Development Interventions (ASPIRE) aims to develop, implement & evaluate an integrated ECD & nutrition intervention covering the first 1000 days of life. ASPIRE is being incorporated into the Integrated Child Development Services scheme in the state of Telangana & delivered by Anganwadi Teachers at the community level.
The intervention comprises of age specific short videos and is called ‘Alana Palana’ which implies the essence of caring and nurturing in Telugu. The videos promote behaviours that facilitate early learning opportunities, responsive parenting and desired nutritional practices for young children. They focus not just on the ‘WHAT’ and ‘HOW’ of behaviours to be performed but also on the ‘WHY’. The content is aspirational and features families from the local community. 30 AWTs from 3 ICDS projects in Hyderabad have been trained on Alana Palana in December 2021 and training is being scaled up to 5 high focus districts of the state.