5 Ways To Curb the Problem of Child Malnutrition in India
5 Ways To Curb the Problem of Child Malnutrition in India
Although our country has developed and advanced largely in the healthcare sector, there is still a gap between effective healthcare-nutrition services and people, especially children. Mostly those in the remote areas and those belonging to the socially backward classes are deprived of receiving the right nutrition. Along with the government policies, through food drives and campaigns, health NGOs in India have greatly helped people avail food and nutrition facilities in various parts of the country. Still, the problem prevails.
Here are a few ways in which malnutrition in India can be reduced:
1. Spreading awareness about nutrition
It is important to educate mothers and workers that interact with children about the right nutrition mix and its delivery to the children, especially toddlers and infants. They must also be educated about increasing the consumption of calorific foods. Knowledge about food related diseases and the kind of nutrition that must be provided to ill children is also necessary to be spread.
2. Letting people know about the government initiatives
The government of India runs various programs to serve food to the children and other people that are deprived of this basic necessity. Through these programs, the government aims at providing free food or cheap food to the people who cannot afford a proper meal at least twice a day for themselves and their families.
3. Improving the quality of mid-day meals
The governments mid-day meal scheme aims to provide nutritious meals to over 10 crore students in over 12 lakh government schools across the country. But there are a few issues that need to be tackled related to this policy. Here are those:
- Hygiene.
- Insufficient fortification
There have been multiple cases where unhygienic mid-day meals have been found, pests were spotted in the food, children suffered from food poisoning caused due to dirty water used to cook the food, etc. More strict rules and penalties should be implied to reduce such acts.
Children between the age of 7-12 are mostly detected with deficiencies in iron, folic acid and Vitamin A. Micronutrients of these can be fortified with mid-day meals to help children fight these deficiencies. Fortification has gained success and made its debut only in a few states in India, it should be made widespread to fight malnutrition.
4. Promote and donate to NGO fundraising
There are various health and medical NGOs in India that are genuinely working towards the betterment of malnutritioned and underprivileged children. Donating to these NGOs can assist them in helping more children and continuing the much-needed services for a better India.
5. Invest in social welfare
Social welfare is one of the most effective tools for fighting any battle against problems like these. When localities that know their areas and the problems of people living in those areas better come together, they can greatly assist in eradicating those problems even from their very roots. The increase in the nutrition index of states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, etc is the best example portraying the power of social welfare.
VASTRA is a credible NGO in India for healthcare that works for various issues prevailing in the society, even the ones related to animal welfare, helping India become a better country for all.
