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Source: LiveMint
Relevance: To study the nutritional status of India
Synopsis: The nutrition scenario is not looking good in India. The pandemic has further worsened it. There is an urgent need for policymakers to focus on nutrition.
Findings of India’s 2015-16 Health Survey:
- One in every three children in India is stunted.
- More than 50% of adolescent girls and pregnant women are anaemic.
- Almost 80% of mothers do not receive full antenatal care during their pregnancy
This was the situation when all government-run health and nutrition programmes were fully functional and easily accessible. Now, the situation has much more worsened during the corona times. Pandemic has had a negative impact on people:
- There is a decline in uptake of health services like antenatal checkups, counselling, consumption of micronutrient supplements among pregnant women
- There is a decrease in dietary diversity due to food insecurity led to adverse consequences on maternal and child nutrition
- There is a reduction in food intake among 90% of the households
- Disruption in the supply of Mid-Day Meals because of the closing of schools.
- Loss of jobs has made the houses more vulnerable as now they struggle for basic food
How to address the nutrition crisis?
- Food and Nutrition Security: It is crucial to address the “hidden hunger” problem, especially among vulnerable communities like pregnant & lactating women, children’s etc while making policies of food security programmes in accordance with current needs.
- Pandemic emphasized the need for local nutritious food & community-based initiatives to tackle the problem of food and nutrition insecurity. Poshan Matka Initiative in MP and promotion of Nutrition Gardens in UP is a step in this direction
- Micro Nutrient supplementation: Various initiatives have been done by many state governments like distribution of iron and folic acid, calcium tablets to pregnant & adolescent girls, Vitamin A supplementation to children to address the nutritional requirements & immunity problems.
- Food Fortification: It is the process of deliberately increasing the content of essential micronutrients to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply. Various states like MP, Kerala, and Odisha have introduced fortified staples & rice in their social safety net programmes. The centre should also adopt fortified staples nationwide in their safety net programmes
Way forward
- We must realize that nutrition cannot wait.
- Policymakers should look beyond calorie intake and focus on nutrition.
Terms to know
