Week 1: The POSHAN clinic innovation

This week marked the beginning of my summer internship with The Antara Foundation (TAF), an opportunity to work and learn about grassroots health innovations in India. 

Learning the Landscape

My first few days were devoted to understanding India's public health context and TAF’s interventions in Madhya Pradesh. I learned how the public health system is structured in India and how TAF works with the government to address challenges such as malnutrition, especially among women and young children.

I learned about POSHAN Abhiyaan, the Indian government’s flagship nutrition mission. Launched in 2018, it represents a unified commitment across several ministries to eliminate malnutrition. In this context, the government developed the Poshan Tracker, a digital platform empowering frontline health workers, called Anganwadi Workers, to track and monitor the health and nutrition status of every child and mother enrolled in the system. 

The project I'll work on: The Poshan Clinic Innovation

My main project centers around an exciting TAF-led intervention in Betul, Madhya Pradesh: the Poshan Clinic. After years of standard practice, TAF and its partners identified persistent gaps in how malnourished children were being located, referred, and managed. The Poshan Clinic model aims to bridge these gaps by organizing structured, medically-supervised monthly screenings at the community level, focusing on children under five.

This innovation has a collaborative approach: existing resources (frontline workers, health officers, local infrastructure) are repurposed for maximum impact, rather than starting from scratch. There’s a strong emphasis on coordination between different parts of the health system and careful follow-up for each child identified as at risk. Early results from the first pilot show promising improvements in identifying and supporting malnourished children.

A Community Health Officer investigating a malnutrition case

Source: TAF

Looking Ahead

Over the next few weeks, I’m looking forward to seeing this innovation in action, through data and on field visits. I will be working closely with TAF in Delhi and in Betul to learn from their experiences and support the documentation and study of the Poshan Clinic’s rollout.

My internship journey is just beginning, but already I am energized by the sense of purpose and collaboration here. I’m excited to share more about the project, the communities I meet, and the lessons I learn along the way.

Stay tuned!