news details |
|
|
| Need to Eradicate Menace of Malnutrition | | | Dr. Banarsi Lal and Dr. Pawan Sharma | 3/27/2021 11:55:37 PM |
| Fruits and vegetables are the rich source of nutrients and their regular consumption can help us to keep healthy and fit. Intake of turmeric, ginger, citrus etc. help us to boost the immunity in our body. We should promote kitchen gardening and different vegetables crops such as cabagge, cauliflower, radish, knolkhol, turnip, okra, bottle gourd etc. can be sown in the kitchen gardens. These vegetables can be grown organically by using the local resources of the farmers. Organic vegetables are chemical free and are good for our health. Kitchen gardens can also be made in the Angadwadi Centres, schools, government offices and even in urban areas. In urban areas roof top vegetables gardening can be promoted without much efforts. During COVID-19 pandemic kitchen gardening can play a crucial role to mitigate the problem of quality vegetables. Watsapp messages, video conferences and home visits can be made by the experts to provide the technical know how on kitchen gardening. For this purpose Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) can play a crucial role in imparting the knowledge on kitchen gardening. Online awareness on malnutrion, anemia, sanitation, kitchen gardening etc. can also be organized among the school children by the various organizations to promote the balanced diet and nutrition for the people. Nutrition related problems in the rural areas need to be identified and solutions need to be provided to the people. For this purpose also Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can be made effectively to disseminate the message on nutrition. Webinars can also be organized on the nutrition and expert advice needs to be communicated to the others. The farmers and women farmers can also be involved in the webinars. Success stories on nutrition need to be highlighted during the webinars. Media can play a significant role in the disseminating the message of balanced nutrition among the masses. Discussion and talk show can also be organized at various local TV and radio channels by involving the experts and local people. The services of doctors, scientists, local women farmers etc. can be utilized effectively to disseminate the message of Poshan Abhiyan. There is need to follow the hand hygiene, mask wearing and physical distancing guidelines while conducting the programmes.
Undernutrition is the major cause of mortality and morbidity among the children under the age of five years.
Although India has made remarkable progress in economic, social and political fields after independence but still there is need of strenuous efforts to reduce malnutrition in the country. The Hon'ble Prime Minister of India Sh.Narindera Modi has given a clarion call towards creating a transformative movement towards "New India". There is dire need to focus on nutrition as nutrition is the basic facet of human life. A well-nourished society is helpful for the long-term economic development. There are number of benefits of investing on proper nutrition as proper nutrition helps to control diseases, reduces infant and maternal mortality, empowers women, improves worker productivity and increases the learning capacity of the students. Government of India is endevouring for improving the status of nutrition in India on priority basis. After independence, there was a great challenge to be self-sufficient in food production. But after Green Revolution this challenge was largely mitigated.
Undernutrition occurs due to multiple factors. It is a burden that hampers us to achieve our desired goals. In order to become a global power India needs to eradicate the malnutrition so that our present and future generations can be healthy and more intellectual. The schemes such as Make in India, Skill India, Digital India etc. will be successful only when the people of the country are healthy and fit. Different Ministries/Departments at the Centre and States/UTs deal with different interventions required for reduction of malnutrition across the nation. Poshan Abhiyan can provide the required convergence platform and thus can augment a synergized approach to eradicate the menace of malnutrition. Convergence at centre is being achieved through formation of the National Council for Nutrition and the Executive Committee for Poshan Abhiyaan. The Convergence Action Plan at State, district and block level define the implementation and monitoring mechanisms for the Abhiyaan. This Abhiyaan can empowers the frontline functionaries i.e. Anganwadi workers and Supervisors by providing them with smart phones.
The problem of malnutrition is inter-generational and is dependent on multiple factors which include optimal Infant & Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices, deworming, dietary diversification, immunization, Institutional delivery, early childhood development, food fortification, safe drinking water and proper sanitation etc. There is a need to make strenuous efforts to tackle the problem of stunting, under-weight and wasting, especially in children. There is also need to bring change in the behaviour of the people and a multi-pronged strategy needs to be adopted to create mass scale awareness on nutrition. For this purpose awareness camps, involvement of mass media, outdoor campaigns, mobilization of all frontline functionaries, Self Help Groups (SHGs), NGOs etc. need to be adopted. There is dire need to tackle malnutrition across the nation. Success in the nutrition mission requires participation from different communities and more and more awareness on nutrition should be created among the people. We all need to join together to eradicate the menace of malnutrition from our society. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
