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HEALTH WATCH
MALNOURISHMENT
NO NATIONAL GUIDELINES
FOR MALNOURISHMENT
NO NATIONAL GUIDELINES
In India, there are no national guidelines released for malnutrition because until now the Government has
not recognized it as a grave illness. In
most of the SAM cases, affected children are hardly tracked. There is a
dire need for a community-based programme where all the children should
be weighed and screened at the local
level. Dr Raj Bhandari, Chairperson
of the Health and Nutrition SubCommittee of the Indian Council of
Child Welfare (ICCW) and a renowned
pediatrician, says, Though the WHO
and the NHFS have guidelines as
to what therapeutic food should be
composed of, the Integrated Child
Development Schemes food alone is
not enough as it is not fortified with
micro-nutrients. He also feels that
there is a requirement for a CMAM
strategy (Community Management
www.bureaucracytoday.com
GOVT INITIATIVE
Though
the
Government
has
launched several programmes to converge the growing rate of undernourished children, these efforts are not
enough, feels the ICCW Committee
Chairperson.
Government schemes such as the
Midday Meal, the Integrated Child
Development Scheme, the National
Childrens Fund, and the National
Plan of Action for Children and the
United Nations Childrens Fund are
a few initiatives taken to combat this
illness. The region of UP, Bihar,
Rajasthan, especially northern India, has 60 per cent of the children
affected by SAM. The Government
with its various initiatives is doing
its bit but that is not enough. We are
looking at Acute Malnutrition, says
Dr Bhandari.