NEW DELHI, Aug 27: In collaboration with the governments of Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, an NGO has reached out to 25.7 million adolescents, 3 million pregnant and lactating women and 1 million newborns with programmes to improve their nutrition in the last two decades.
The NGO Nutrition International’s programme, as part of its global ‘Right Start’ initiative supported by the government of Canada, have provided improved access to anaemia reduction initiatives for adolescents and pregnant women, and ameliorate services at delivery facilities to ensure a healthy start for newborns, a statement said.
Also, children have been reached through infant and young child nutrition services to reduce malnutrition during the first two years of their lives.
Key results of the ‘Right Start’ initiative in India were presented to government representatives, officials from the health, women and child development and education departments from a number of states, development partners and the media, at a meeting held here recently.
Deputy Commissioner (Adolescent Health), Ministry of Health, Dr Sushma Dureja said, “Malnutrition is an inter-generational issue and needs interventions across all age groups. Nutrition International’s work with newborns, adolescents and women is helping us reach our target of reducing anaemia in India.”
Malnutrition remains one of the biggest public health challenges in India.
More than half of all pregnant women, 54 pc adolescent girls and 30 pc of adolescent boys are anaemic, only 42 per cent of babies are breast-fed in the first hour of birth and 9.6 per cent young children receive adequate diet, putting them at risk of malnutrition early in life, the statement said.
Andrew O Connell, Nutrition International, Regional Director, Asia, said, “Nutrition is not just the basis of good health, it is the foundation for a better future. Working in India for over two decades, we understand the nation’s public health challenges thoroughly and have devised multiple interventions to address them.”
“Right Start is one such initiative that has improved health and nutrition practices to those who need them the most.”
Through the ‘Right Start’ initiative, Nutrition International has also trained over 70,000 health and nutrition workers for delivering improved and more comprehensive adolescent, maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition services.
Support has been provided to state governments on six programme components, including planning and budgeting, supply chain management, inter-departmental coordination, behaviour change intervention, capacity building, monitoring, reporting and review. (PTI)
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