New Delhi: The month of September is marked as Rashtriya Poshan Maah or Nutrition Month under the government’s national flagship programme, POSHAN Abhiyaan, also known as National Nutrition Mission. The program was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 with the aim of reducing the levels of undernutrition among children below six years, pregnant women and lactating mothers in the country. This year, POSHAN Maah is marked by the theme: Suposhit Bharat, Sakshar Bharat, Sashakt Bharat (Well-Nourished, Well-Read And Empowered India) which mainly focuses on the key stages of the human life cycle: pregnancy, infancy, childhood and adolescence.
To know more about the importance of celebrating POSHAN Maah and the nutritional goals the country needs to achieve, the Banega Swasth India team spoke to Dr Hemalatha R, Director, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), from the National Institute of Nutrition. Dr. Hemalatha is also a renowned researcher and expert in the field of maternal and child health and nutrition.
NDTV: What is the importance of marking an entire month as POSHAN Maah and how can it help the country achieve its nutritional goals?
Dr. Hemalatha A: In India, during POSHAN Maah, several awareness-raising activities take place around key themes related to nutrition. Millions of people participate in these activities, thereby initiating the chain of greater awareness, knowledge and understanding of the subject. This year, which marks the sixth year of POSHAN Maah, the theme is Suposhit Bharat, Sakshar Bharat, Sashakt Bharat which is a “nutrition-rich, educated and self-reliant India”. The aim is to promote understanding of nutrition to address malnutrition issues through a life cycle approach, targeting people in vulnerable life stages such as pregnancy, breastfeeding, adolescence and children under six years old. Within the main theme, campaigns focus on several sub-themes, including exclusive breastfeeding, Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi which guides the improvement of nutrition while educating children. And the Mission LiFE campaign is mobilizing people to become pro-planet. When people demand healthy food, demand can affect supply chains and trigger changes in policies that can support both sustainable consumption and production.
There are also themes such as tribal-focused nutrition awareness. There are also programs on anemia and breastfeeding. With all these initiatives in place, POSHAN Maah is poised to improve the knowledge of people and stakeholders in India.
NDTV: How would you assess India’s performance so far in meeting its maternal, child and young child nutrition targets?
Dr. Hemalatha A: Speaking of numbers, in India, stunting (which occurs when a child is too short for their age) has declined from 48 percent in 2006 to 35.5 percent in 2019-20, according to the data from the National Family Health Survey 5. When it comes to the global burden, India’s share has also declined from around 30 percent to 25 percent. In low-index states, there was a striking decline in stunting rates, ranging from 5 to 7 percent.
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However, the prevalence of overweight children has increased across India. Furthermore, although the waistline trend is modest and age-old, it is happening in India. And in some states, the trend is similar to that of developed countries.
Wasting has not improved over the years. But the fact remains that around 50% of children classified as wasted in India are actually normal for their age. This means that these children are growing, but if you measure their weight by their height, they do not reach the required weight and are called wasted. It is a paradox, when children grow normally, they cannot suffer from wasting (muscle atrophy), which is pathological. A child who is truly wasted will not grow (in a linear fashion). The metrics we currently use to measure nutritional status may not capture children who truly need immediate attention.
NDTV: India is facing the twin challenges of undernutrition and overnutrition in the form of increasing cases of obesity, as highlighted by NFHS-5. What is the government’s strategy to meet this dual challenge?
Dr. Hemalatha A: Currently, India’s main focus is on undernutrition. NFHS 5 data shows that one in five people have hypertension. Diabetes is no longer just an urban phenomenon, we are seeing an increase in the number of cases even in rural areas. In the past, fatty liver disease was only associated with people under the influence of alcohol. Today in India, around 30-40% of the population suffers from this disease, which we call non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. All these problems are on the rise due to our poor eating habits and excessive consumption of HFSS foods. Ayushman Bharat, a flagship program of the Government of India, was launched as recommended by the National Health Policy, 2017, under which several thousand Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs) have been launched and there is a program – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM -JAY) to provide health cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalizations for over 12 crore poor and vulnerable families.
Additionally, FSSAI launched the Eat Right movement in 2018 to raise awareness about the importance of eating right. Additionally, the Thoda Kam campaign engages celebrities to encourage people to reduce their intake of salt, sugar and fat. Complementing these ideas, the Fit India movement, launched by the Prime Minister in 2019, encourages citizens of all ages to engage in physical activities. These moves align with the government’s flagship public health programs, such as Poshan Abhiyaan, to address growing challenges such as NCDs. But we need systemic change in agriculture and policy support for the formulation of healthy foods and their availability at affordable costs.
NDTV – Dettol has been working for a clean and healthy India since 2014 through the Banega Swachh India initiative, led by campaign ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the interdependence of humans and the environment, as well as humans on each other, with a focus on “One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leave no one behind “. It highlights the need to care for and consider the health of everyone in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous peoples, different tribes of India, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In the wake of the current Covid-19 pandemicthe need for WASH (Water, SanitationAnd Hygiene) is reaffirmed because hand washing is one of the ways to prevent coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on this topic while focusing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, to combat malnutritionmental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health and gender awareness. Besides the health of people, the campaign realized the need to also take care of the health of the ecosystem. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which not only overexploits available resources, but also generates immense pollution due to the use and extraction of these resources. The imbalance has also led to immense loss of biodiversity, which is causing one of the greatest threats to human survival: climate change. It is now described as a “code red for humanity.“The campaign will continue to cover issues such as air pollution, Waste Management, plastic ban, manual cleaning and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also take forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign believes that only a Swachh or a clean India where bathroom are used and open defecation free (ODF)status obtained under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, diseases like diarrhea can be eradicated and the country can become a healthy India.
