Malnutrition
Introduction:
- Malnutrition needs to be addressed if a solid foundation for human growth is to be established. The best treatment approaches for lowering baby mortality and sickness, preventing malnutrition, influencing cognitive development, and ultimately permitting the generation of adult life are optimal maternal nutrition and newborn and young child feeding.
- The first 1,000 days of life, or the time from conception to the child’s first two years of life, are particularly important because they provide a crucial window of opportunity for guaranteeing optimal development, growth, child survival, and nutrition and health throughout the balance of one’s life. Actually, the first 1000 days of life are when the brain grows by 80%.
Malnutrition is described as:
- Three basic conditions are referred to as “malnutrition”:
- Stunting, wasting, and being underweight in relation to height are all signs of undernutrition (low weight-for-age)
- Due to their combined appearance of being stunted and wasted, the kids appear to be underweight, which is a sign of poor nutrition and postpartum care.
- Malnutrition caused by an excess of micronutrients, a lack of essential vitamins and minerals, or a deficiency in micronutrients are all characteristics of malnutrition connected to micronutrients;
- Chronic health issues can result from being overweight, obese, or from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) linked to nutrition (including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some malignancies).
The measures taken by India
The POSHAN Initiative
- India developed the Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment (POSHAN) Abhiyaan under the Ministry of Women and Child Development to address the continuously high incidence of malnutrition (MWCD).
- By focusing on capacity building, improved service delivery, community mobilisation and involvement, inter-ministerial/inter-departmental convergent planning, and assessment, it seeks to improve nutritional outcomes.
- In comparison to 2015–16, the documentation of first 1,000 days interventions, such as pregnancy registration, prenatal visits, and exclusive breastfeeding, has received more emphasis.
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS):
- All expectant mothers, nursing mothers, and children between the ages of 0 and 6 benefit from the programme. The organisation in charge of implementation is the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD). It is crucial for lowering maternal and neonatal undernourishment on a local level.
Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana:
- The government-sponsored effort got underway in 2017. The Rs. 6,000 that is automatically deposited into the bank accounts of expectant and nursing mothers to enhance delivery options and make up for lost pay is only available to the first child of the household.
National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013:
- Its goal is to make sure that everyone has access to sufficient, wholesome food in the right proportions at costs that allow them to live honourably. By doing this, the long-term availability of food and nutrition for people will be guaranteed.
- Up to 50% of urban households and 75% of rural individuals can acquire food grains through the targeted public distribution system, which is funded by food grain subsidies (TPDS). The overall population is served by NFSA to the tune of 67%. Priority households, including those covered by the present Antyodaya Anna Yojana, will obtain coverage under the TPDS.
- Each person receives 5 kg of food each month in the form of rice, wheat, and coarse grains for a cost of Rs. 3/2/1 per kilogramme. 35 Kg of food grains will continue to be sent monthly to each AAY home.
- Additionally, it offers maternity benefits of at least Rs. 6,000 to expectant and nursing women throughout their pregnancies and for six months following childbirth, as well as meals for kids under the age of 14.
The importance of evidence-based interventions:
- According to the study, high coverage, continuity (during the first 1,000 days of life and across delivery channels), intensity (many interactions), quality, and equity are necessary for evidence-based interventions to have an influence on nutrition outcomes.
- The mother’s health, which includes elements like her weight, haemoglobin level, age at conception, and levels of numerous micronutrients throughout the periconception period, has a big impact on the health of the unborn child.
- Prenatal care, or care before pregnancy, is acknowledged for its importance. The Nashik district received the first-ever primary health-care innovation initiative to improve the health of women during the preconception period in 2018 thanks to collaboration between the Maharashtra Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and UNICEF.
- The initiative demonstrated how improving adolescent girls’ and mothers’ health helps prevent infant deaths, early births, and low birth weights in addition to improving the baby’s health. It was expanded to several State districts as a result of its effectiveness.
- Accredited social health activists (ASHAs), auxiliary nurse-midwives (ANMs), and anganwadi workers (AWWs), who are crucial in educating the community on health planning and action, offer all of these interventions to the final mile through the network of the frontline work force. They frequently serve as the only source of essential nutrition and other healthcare services in many places. They are crucial for fostering healthy lives, knowledge exchange, and neighbourhood support.
