Children are not vote banks. This is precisely why parliamentarians don’t usually do much to combat malnutrition. But unless they come forward collectively, the promise of Poshan Abhiyaan will remain unfulfilled
There is a critical need to invest in women and girls. Adolescent anaemia, poor access to education and skills training, and early marriages deepen the deprivation that women and young girls face.
Like India’s Green and White revolutions, which received strong patronage and the highest political will to deliver and transform, a Nutrition Revolution needs a very well-structured institutional mechanism.
Women are crucial to improving the nutrition status of the family and society. For a sustainable nutrition revolution, this mighty woman power needs to take control by changing the narrative.
Today, people claim the central African country of Rwanda has the highest rate of breastfeeding (87%) in the world. But not many are aware that Surguja, a rural district in Chhattisgarh, has 87.5% breastfeeding rate (children below 6 months) which surpasses Rwanda.
More than 50 percent of women in India are anaemic and nearly 60 percent of children in the 6-23 months crucial age bracket are anaemic, hugely compounding the problem of malnutrition in the country.
Good Nutrition is a key driver in addressing India’s commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, writes Basanta Kumar Kar, Country Director, Project Concern International/India.
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