Malnutrition cases dip in Pune district; robust child health tracking system said to be a reason

“The prevalence of malnutrition among children in the age groups of 0-6 years has fallen to 0.1% of the population of Pune district,” Ayush Prasad, CEO, Pune Zilla Parishad told The Indian Express, adding that this is the lowest ever rate in any such survey. “The reduction is consistent and sustained,” he added.

According to Jamsing Girase, deputy CEO (Integrated Child Development Services -ICDS), Pune ZP, a total of 346 children (302 MAM and 44-SAM) will be monitored at the village child development centre (VCDC) across 288 anganwadis in the district from June 15.

Chronic undernutrition, experts say, leads to stunting during the critical period of growth in early life and the child’s nutritional status is assessed with the weight for height Z score. This compares a child’s weight to that of a healthy reference population of children of the same height or length and is expressed in units of standard deviations from the mean of the reference population.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), severe acute malnutrition is defined by very low weight for height /length (Z-score below-3SD (standard deviation) of the median WHO child growth standards). Children with severe acute malnutrition need foods with high energy content and adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals. A community-based approach involves timely detection of severe acute malnutrition in the community and provision of treatment for those without medical complications with ready-to-use therapeutic foods or other nutrient-dense foods at home.

Prasad says that it was on February 25, 2020 that they had launched a ‘Mission Malnutrition-free Pune’ programme and a massive drive of screening children (0-6) was taken up multiple times by community health officers and a team of 550 doctors across 101 primary health centres. According to official data, the population of children (0-6) is 3,28,641 in Pune Rural, 9,670 across municipal councils and 1,23,101 in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation areas.

Camps were organised at Pune Zilla Parishad and simple tips were given to parents of malnourished children on how to prevent loss of nutrients while cooking. Authorities identified vulnerable children in tribal, nomadic and migrant sugar cutter communities. Along with the help of CSR partners, energy dense nutritional food and midday meal was also supplied under the Prime Minister’s Poshan Scheme.

“Children in need of medical care have been provided treatment from specialist doctors under the Rashtriya Bal Suraksha Karyakram. ASHA workers have monitored the health and ensured that children are given necessary medicines. The universal use of toilets under the Swachh Bharat mission and the supply of portable drinking water under the Jal Jeevan Mission have helped reduce cases of diarrhoea. Our focused intervention and efforts have led to these results,” Prasad says.