New Delhi, March 5 (AHN) NITI Aayog on Thursday said that it has signed a Statement of Intent (SOI) with UNICEF India to support strategic interventions in aspirational districts and aspirational blocks.

The objective of this agreement to leverage the strengths of both institutions to advance efforts towards improving maternal and child nutrition outcomes in underserved areas.

The SOI was signed by Rohit Kumar, Additional Secretary and Mission Director of the Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme at NITI Aayog, and Arjan de Wagt, Deputy Representative at UNICEF India, the government think tank said.

“The partnership will support the promotion of multi-stakeholder engagement and strengthen implementation systems for nutrition and health interventions at the block level,” NITI Aayog said.

Kumar said partnerships with organisations such as UNICEF India would further strengthen efforts to address critical health and nutrition challenges and enhance last-mile service delivery in high-priority regions.

“The Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programme has demonstrated the importance of convergence, collaboration and data-driven governance in accelerating development outcomes,” he added.

UNICEF India, via its platform IMPAct4Nutrition (I4N), will provide technical expertise and support engagement with businesses, public sector enterprises and industry associations to channel corporate social responsibility (CSR) investments into nutrition-focused initiatives, the government said.

The agreement will focus on strengthening Anganwadi infrastructure, enhancing nutrition literacy, improving the uptake of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and building the capacity of frontline workers, the apex public policy body said.

According to NITI Aayog, the partnership will also involve mobilising CSR partners to support health and nutrition interventions, promoting community engagement and facilitating knowledge-sharing platforms to identify and disseminate scalable best practices across Aspirational Districts and Blocks.

Earlier this week, NITI Aayog also signed a pact with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to enhance sustainable development in Aspirational Districts and Blocks.

The two sides signed the Record of Discussions for Phase II of the Project for Promotion of the Programme for Japan–India Cooperative Actions Towards Sustainable Development Goals.