Date:15/08/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/08/15/stories/2007081561461000.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Meeting calls for nutrition strategy

Staff Reporter

“It should focus on children aged below two, especially in marginalised groups”

— Photo: S. S. Kumar

DISCUSSING A POINT: Social Welfare Minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna with M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman, MSSRF, at a conclave on nutrition held in Chennai on Tuesday.

CHENNAI: Even 60 years after independence, health surveys indicate that malnutrition in the country remains “critical.”

According to the third National Family Health Survey, 46 per cent of children aged below three are undernourished, while 79 per cent in this age group as well as 70 per cent of pregnant women are anaemic.

To come up with new strategies to deal with the widespread problem of malnutrition, representatives of the Union Government, several State governments, the United Nations and non-governmental organisations came together at a national conclave here on Tuesday.

Among the recommendations made by the group are the formulation of a national strategy on nutrition that will focus on children under the age of two, especially in the marginalised groups, greater emphasis on nutrition education and awareness, more focus on the urban poor through mapping of slum clusters and improved evaluation of the existing nutrition programmes.

Health awareness

Social Welfare Minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna said the Government would focus on improving the health awareness of pregnant women in particular, to significantly enhance the nutritional status of children under the age of three. “The best time to educate a mother about the importance of nutrition is when a woman is pregnant,” Dr. Poongothai said.

“Studies suggest growth retardation of children starts during pregnancy and nearly 30 per cent of the babies are born underweight. By the time they are two years old, most life-time growth retardation has taken place, and this is largely irreversible.”

She highlighted the need for informing pregnant mothers that breast feeding could protect babies from infectious diseases, while “simple” folic acid tablets could ensure proper brain development.

M.S. Swaminathan, agricultural scientist and chairman, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, emphasised the need for “synergy” among public policy, healthcare, education and sanitation to bring about a significant improvement in nutrition levels.

“Nutrition is the first among a human being’s needs,” he said. “The right to food is a fundamental right. Nutritional awareness and literacy are extremely important in this country.”

Around 100 participants from 50 different groups participated in the three-day national discussion, which the foundation organised along with the Indian Council of Medical Research, the Ministries of Health and Family Welfare and Woman and Child Development and the United States Agency for International Development.