Lok Sabha Question No. 3704 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-11
Subject: Interventional Focus on Malnutrition
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Chandra Sekhar Sahu, Rahul Ramesh Shewale, Pritam Gopinath Munde

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3704

TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.08.2023

## INTERVENTIONAL FOCUS ON MALNUTRITION

3704.  SHRI CHANDRA SEKHAR SAHU: SHRI RAHUL RAMESH SHEWALE: DR. PRITAM GOPINATHRAO MUNDE:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether India's  high  prevalence  of  stunting,  wasting  and  anaemia  continues  to pose public health risks for children and women;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the response of the Government thereon;
- (c) whether any need is felt to strengthen existing social sector schemes, such as the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), to tackle this problem particularly in Odisha and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether various studies including in Odisha have shown that interventions focusing on nutrition, education and health during early childhood can significantly improve human capital;
- (e) if so, the reaction of the Government thereto; and
- (f) the remedial measures taken by the Government to address and tackle non-formal pre-school education and to break the cycle of malnutrition, morbidity and mortality situation in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) & (b) The  data  on  nutritional  indicators  is  captured  under  the  National  Family Health  Surveys  (NFHS)  conducted  periodically  by  the  Ministry  of  Health  and  Family Welfare. As per the recent report of NFHS-5 (2019-21), the nutrition indicators for children under 5 years have improved as compared with NFHS-4 (2015-16). Stunting has reduced from  38.4%  to  35.5%,  Wasting  has  reduced  from  21.0%  to  19.3%  and  Underweight prevalence has reduced from 35.8% to 32.1%. and the prevalence of underweight among women  has  improved  from  22.9%  (NFHS-4)  to  18.7%  (NFHS-5).  The  percentage  of Anemia in women as per NFHS-5 is 57.0%

However, as per data recorded in Poshan Tracker, ICT application for Mission Poshan 2.0, close to 7 crore children were measured in the country in the June 2023, as per which, 7% were wasted and 19% underweight, which is significantly lower than NFHS indicators.

(c)              In  order to maximize nutritional outcomes, recently the Anganwadi Services (erstwhile ICDS Scheme), Scheme for Adolescent Girls and Poshan Abhiyaan have been re-aligned under 'Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0' (Mission Poshan 2.0). It seeks to address the challenges of malnutrition in children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers through a strategic shift in nutrition content and delivery and by creation of a convergent eco-system to develop and promote practices that nurture health, wellness  and  immunity.  The  Mission  is  being  implemented  throughout  the  country, including the State of Odisha.

(d) & (e) Interventions focusing on nutrition, education and health throughout the lifecycle can have significant impact on improving human capital in the country. Government has accorded high priority to the issue of malnutrition and is implementing several schemes as  direct  targeted  interventions  to  address  the  problem  of  malnutrition  in  a  life  cycle approach throughout the country. POSHAN Abhiyaan launched on 8 th  March 2018 aims to achieve improvement in nutritional status of Adolescent Girls, Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers in a time bound manner by adopting a synergised and result oriented approach. The Abhiyaan has been rolled out across 36 States/UTs.

Under Poshan 2.0, focus is on diet diversity, food fortification, leveraging traditional systems  of  knowledge  and  popularizing  use  of  millets.  Nutrition  awareness  strategies under Poshan 2.0 aim to develop sustainable health and well-being through regional meal plans to bridge dietary gaps. Further, greater emphasis is being given on the use of millets (coarse  grains)  for  preparation  of  Hot  Cooked  Meal  and  Take  Home  rations  (not  raw ration) at Anganwadi centres for Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers and Children below 6 years of age, as millets have high nutrient content that can address anemia and other micro-nutrient  deficiencies  in  women  and  children.  Under  Supplementary  Nutrition Programme of Mission Poshan 2.0, only fortified rice is being allocated to States/UTs.

Development  Monitoring  &  Evaluation  Office  (DMEO)  under  NITI  Aayog  has conducted  Sectoral  Evaluation  of  schemes  including  POSHAN  Abhiyaan,  wherein performance of the  scheme  was  found satisfactory in criterions of Relevance, Sustainability and Equity. NITI Aayog assessed the implementation of POSHAN Abhiyaan since its inception and came out with the following key findings:

-  Poshan  Abhiyaan  has  helped  to  bring  a  strong  focus  on  improving  nutrition outcomes during the first 1,000 days.
-  It  has  enabled  a  nation-wide  Jan-andolan  catalysing  nutrition  related  behaviour change at scale for positive impact on feeding and healthcare practices.
-  The Abhiyaan has demonstrated that the processes for inter-sectoral convergence are effectively operationalized through in place institutional mechanisms at multiple levels.
-  Poshan  Abhiyaan  showed  that  technology  can  be  leveraged  for  real-time monitoring of large scale health and nutrition programmes.
-  Poshan Abhiyaan supported the resilience of health and nutrition systems during Covid-19 pandemic.

(f)        Government aims to ensure holistic development of all children under the age of 6 years, and has launched the 'Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi' (PBPB) programme, which is a path breaking  Early  Childhood  Care  and  Education  (ECCE)  program  to  help  India  develop world's  largest,  universal,  high-quality  pre-school  network  at  Anganwadi  Centers  in alignment with the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Under the programme, steps have been taken to bolster early childhood care and education and good nutrition practices through development and use of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) and locally available toys for learning at AWCs. In order to achieve this objective, under PBPB focus is on building capacities of ICDS functionaries for (i) promoting early stimulation in the first 1000 days and  ECCE  for  children  3-6  years  of  age,  (ii)  developing  ECCE  understanding  of Anganwadi  Workers,  (iii)  nurturing  developmental  domains  (socio-emotional-ethical, physical and motor, cognitive, etc.,) and the development of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), and (iv) reinforcing nutrition knowledge of Anganwadi Workers.

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