Malnutrition is a silent emergency in India; nevertheless, it is barely talked on any news channel. It is very dangerous, for it jeopardizes the chances of survival of affected children, increases their susceptibility to illness, drops their ability to learn, increases their chances of giving up school, and makes them less productive in later life.
Malnutrition among our kids is alarmingly high as almost 50% of Indian children are suffering from the disease. The rates of malnutrition in India are 200% higher than that in Sub Saharan Africa and 5 times higher than neighboring China. Moreover Indian children under five years of age continue to be amongst most affected kids in the world.
But here is some good news- Madhya Pradesh has set an example for other Indian states to follow suit. Around 6 months ago, the women and child development department took an initiative to tackle the panic situation by launching a scheme- by the name of Swaprerana. Initially the projected was implemented in Indore for trial which has yielded overwhelming results in favour in just 6 months.
Before the plan was executed, there were 1479 malnourished and 108 acute malnourished children in the targeted city. After a period of six months, the number reduced to 829 and 67 respectively- which shows that the project managed to bring down the number of malnourished children to a great degree (i.e. nearly 50%.).
The department will implement the very model all around the state after tasting success in Indore.
The project gave overwhelming results because of dedication of Anganwadi workers- they went home to home and fed affected kids nutrient-rich foods regularly. They had to visit their homes because the children were not coming to the centers.
