Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Day (VHSND) is conceptualized under National Health Mission (NHM) across the country since 2007. It is a platform to provide provision of preventive and development services to the community through several flagship programmes introduced by Government. VHSND is an intersectoral collaboration of following four components namely-

1. Health: It includes basic health and counselling services for reproductive, maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health, Communicable Disease and Non Communicable Disease.

2. Nutrition: It includes services as well as counselling related to growth monitoring, breast feeding and complementary feeding, maternal nutrition, micronutrients etc.

3. Early Childhood Development: It includes age appropriate play and communication for children.

4. Sanitation: Defines promotion of hygiene, hand washing, safe drinking water and use of toilets.

Salient features of VHND

1. VHSND is to be organised in every village once in a month at the Anganwadi/ identified Centres.

2. The ANM of the area prepares a monthly VHSND plan for her catchment area on the basis of the beneficiary list prepared by Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) and Awanganwadi Workers (AWW) workers.

3. The date and time of the VHSND is displayed in the Anganwadi Centres (AWC) and Sub Centres (SC) along with the name of service provider and IEC materials.

4. The ASHA and AWW inform beneficiaries one day prior to attend the VHSND session site along with MCP card.

5. According to the plan drugs and supplies are made available to perform all necessary activities and service delivery in the VHSND during the time of session.

6. The session is conducted for a minimum of four hours of which at least one hour is devoted for group counselling sessions.

7. Services are delivered according to the monthly VHSND plan and documented the same in MCP card, RCH register and other registers as required.

8. ANM, MPW and ASHAs are the front line service providers of VHSND. AWW and Helpers are also present in the session site representing Department of Social Welfare-Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) along with Village Level Representatives from Panchayati Raj and Department of Rural development.

A successful VHSND requires involvement and coordination among multiple stakeholders from different departments at community level. This requires through planning and preparation, assuming appropriate infrastructure and requisite logistic and preparing the site and community for the event.