.

“Problem of malnutrition is a matter of national shame.”

Shameful Facts• Despite India’s remarkable economic

growth over the last decade, many children still struggle to meet their most basic needs, including access to sufficient food and health care.

• 33% of the world’s malnourished children live in India.

• In India, 48% of children under the age of 5 are stunted and 43% are underweight.

• Malnutrition is costing the Indian economy 2.95% of its GDP annually.

• Importantly with 43% of children underweight ( with a weight deficit for their age) rates of child underweight in India are twice higher than the average figure in sub-Saharan Africa (22%).

Causes of Malnutrition

Consequences of Malnutrition•Nearly 9 million children die every year before the age of five – that is nearly one child every three seconds across the world.•Every 25 seconds, an Indian child dies unnecessarily because of poor nutrition.• Malnutrition is a contributing factor in over 50% of deaths in children under five”- World Bank

Multi-stakeholder platform brings people together which can help in reduction of Malnutrition

Technical Community

United Nations

Government Partners

Civil Society

Donors

Business

Align other sectors with nutrition goals

The multi-stakeholder platform

Works to align and coordinate action

across sectors.

Women’s Empowerment

Health

Development & Poverty Reduction

Agriculture

Education

Social Protection

Prioritise the 1,000-day window

3.1 million children die every year due to malnutrition. An additional 165 million

children who manage to survive malnutrition in their early years

experience stunted growth and cognitive development, undermining their future productivity and therefore income. We need to focus on nutrition of mothers

and children during a child’s first 1,000 days, an effort that can have

long-term consequences for growth, health and intellectual capacity.

Bring girls’ health into focus

More than one in four children born in low- and middle-income groups in India

are underweight for their age. In addition, most pregnant women cannot access nutrition services until the fifth or sixth month of their pregnancies, if at all. As a result, their children start their lives already malnourished. If we prioritise

the health of women and girls, we can boost general nutrition, reduce

pregnancy complications and boost fetal growth and development.

Expand reach through community health workers

• .

Community health worker programs offer a prime opportunity to increase already

successful nutrition programs’ coverage and provide services to populations who presently

lack access. Several countries, including Ethiopia, have already started investing in

community health worker programs to promote maternal and child health and nutrition with great success. Community health workers hold great promise to bring

nutrition services to those most vulnerable to malnutrition, and their capacity to carry out this work should therefore be strengthened.

Implementation: The Thing in which we always lack

Midday meal scheme

in Indian schools

Integrated child

development scheme

National Children's

Fund

National Plan of

Action for Children

National Rural Health Mission

United Nations

Children's Fund

We have 6 schemes already in place . The solutions can be made by working in existing framework but with newer methods like community health workers who will work like BPO official . Any one can complain , suggest or coordinate with them. Service sector can also play important role by providing 24 hour helpline . IT companies can also help in bringing the adequate data to minimize the problem.

Rather than thinking of vote bank politics the central and state governments should work on implementation. A Special committee should be formed including officials from the central and state governments to work towards eradicating this problem. We also need to hold policymakers accountable to their commitments to nutrition progress and harness the global momentum on nutrition to produce more effective programs

The solutions have key fundamental and implementation risks

Fundamental risksMishandling of fundsLack of responsibilityNo awareness and lack of knowledge among people about schemes

Implementation RisksDifficulty in integrating with government schemesLack of community health workers Lack of coordination among sectors for nutrition goals.

How these solutions would impact?

• If these solutions are implemented properly we can reduce the number of chronically undernourished children by

millions.• Reduction in Malnutrition would lead to more productivity

and increase in innovation which would lead to growth of the country in long run.

Sources

• ^ "World Bank Report". Source: The World Bank (2009). Retrieved 2009-03-13. "World Bank Report on Malnutrition in India“

• ^ "2011 Global Hunger Index Report". International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

• ^ "World Bank Report". Source: The World Bank 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-25. "India Country Overview 2009“

• " ^ "Journal of the American Medical Association". Source: JAMA 2004. Retrieved 2009-11-26. "The global burden of chronic diseases" ^ "Malnutrition". Retrieved 13 February 2012. ^

• "The Indian exception". The Economist. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2012. ^ "Putting the smallest first". The Economist. 23 September 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2012.

Thankyou