“I had almost given up hope that she would survive,” said Suman, a resident of Bidi village in Khanapur taluk, speaking of her two-year-old daughter.
Suman’s daughter suffered from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), a dreaded condition that can be fatal, and she thought her daughter would not survive.
But then a miracle happened. Volunteers came from Jagruthi, an organization that works with disadvantaged children in Belagavi.
Volunteers educated her on how to make the most of the food kit provided at anganwadis. Suman did as he was told. In a few months her daughter recovered.
“This is like a second chance for her,” he told DH.
And it’s not just Suman. Dozens of other parents are now seeing similar results, thanks to Jagruthi and his newfound awareness of malnutrition.
In August last year, volunteers conducted a survey in three taluks (Hukkeri, Khanapur, Kittur) in Belagavi. Up to 400 children in each taluk in the age group 0-6 years were identified for the purpose of the survey.
They found that a key reason behind the persistence of malnutrition, aside from poverty, was a lack of awareness of nutrition management.
For example, they found that a powdered multigrain mix known locally as ‘Pushti’ provided by Integrated Child Development Services was being fed to livestock rather than children due to misconceptions. Some parents rejected the powder after seeing the side effects.
“After I fed my daughter ‘Pushti,’ she developed diarrhoea,” said Ratnavva from the Devgoan village.
Experts say the reason for this is that the “multigrain powder contains peanuts, which cause diarrhea due to their coarse nature.”
The group of volunteers asked the parents to filter out the thick parts.
Next, for healthy children, volunteers provided general nutrition information and discouraged junk food, providing alternatives with snacks that could be prepared at home, such as peanut laddu.
The team spent about three months teaching parents about nutrition and how to use the nutrition kits provided by anganwadis.
This produced results.
The malnutrition rate, which reached 27% (Khanapur) in August 2021, dropped to 5% in October and fell back to zero in December.
Dr. Gopal Dabade, a founding member of Jagruti, said that during the pandemic and subsequent lockdown, anganwadi centers were closed and midday meals were suspended.
There was a delay in the distribution of nutritional kits to the children by the anganwadi workers at the gates. Although this was one of the causes of the exacerbation of malnutrition, another important cause was that the parents, who were left without work, also participated in the food provided for the children’s consumption.
This resulted in the children gradually suffering from a lack of vitamins and that pushed them into the SAM category, Dr. Gopal said.
Citing the NITI Aayog (Nutritive India: National Nutrition Strategy) report, Dr. Gopal said that five districts in Karnataka-Ballari, Bagalkot, Koppal, Kalaburagi and Yadgir are among the 100 low-performing districts with very high levels of stunted growth.
In the case of losing, Karnataka is in seventh position. In the state, 32% of children are underweight and Karnataka ranks ninth in the prevalence of underweight children, added Dr Gopal.
Officials from the Department of Women and Children’s Welfare admitted the lack of awareness among parents, adding that the department is addressing malnutrition by taking various measures.
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