How can we stop malnutrition in India?
Malnourished children run the risk of an impaired immune system, making them prone to severe, frequent and prolonged bouts of illness. Malnutrition continues to be the leading risk factor for disease burden in India.
It was the predominant risk factor for death in children younger than 5 years of age in every state of India in 2017, accounting for 68.2% of the total deaths of children under 5.
Children are the future of our nation. If this is the condition we leave them in, imagine what would happen to the future of this country. It is time we stepped in to save the children of India.
World Vision India works to address the causes of malnutrition with special focus on malnourished children below five years of age, pregnant women and mothers, through counselling, emergency feeding programmes, caring and health-seeking practises, nutrition gardens, the training of health workers and infrastructure development at Anganwadis (child care centres).
Here’s an account of a cooking demo in Bokaro, Jharkhand, that is helping prevent malnutrition among children.
An excited Harsh sat beside his mother, Bindoo Devi, with the rest of the women and children in Bokaro. Around 40 mothers gathered with their children to attend World Vision India’s cooking demo programme, conducted four times a year. Mothers learn to prepare nutritious food like health drink, cereals, besan ladoo (sweet made from black chickpea flour), omelette, dal parantha, suji halwa and khijari using locally available food like wheat, barley, maize and more. They learn the importance of serving tri-coloured food — green, yellow and white — to their children.
Bindoo Devi was among 73 health volunteers who received cooking training through this programme. Now she, along with other health volunteers, has been training local women across 75 communities in the district.
The Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) is measured for children to check their nutritional status. At the age of two and half, Harsh was identified with Moderate Acute Malnutrition. His MUAC indicator was in the yellow category and he weighed only 11 kilograms.
Yet, from the time his mother began her training through the cooking demo, Harsh’s health improved and he entered the green category within six months. “I attended the training and applied those learnings at home. I learnt to make cereals, ladoo, suji halwa, vegetable omelette, Horlicks and dal paratha. Harsh’s health improved tremendously and he weighed above 13 kg,” said Bindoo, adding, “Earlier children were only fed khichdi (rice and lentils). Most of us have changed now and encourage other mothers to use locally available vegetables as well”.
At the cooking demo, women ground green peas, dal and groundnuts into fine powder on a stone mortar. Children circled around the table expecting a treat and their hopes were met as the programme ended in a mini-community feast with the prepared food. World Vision India is working in 75 communities, covering 22,974 children at Bokaro District, Jharkhand.
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