STEPPING UP TO INDIA’S NUTRITION CHALLENGE: FROM ASPIRATION TO ACTION

Enthusiastic participants ready to move from aspiration to action (Image courtesy: National Gender Centre, LBSNAA)

The progress made by India on maternal and nutrition outcomes over the last decade is encouraging. Between 2006-16, stunting among children below five years declined from 48 percent to 38 percent, anemia among women of reproductive age came down from 55.3 percent to 53 percent, and exclusive breastfeeding increased from 46.4 percent to 54.9 percent. Despite these improvements, there is tremendous inter-district variability.

To ensure spatial equity in the improvement of nutritional outcomes, it is essential now to have a district-focused approach that is reflected in the roll-out of Government of India’s POSHAN Abhiyaan and ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ programme. Stepping up to India’s nutrition challenge, however, will require addressing its multiple determinants in the districts that are currently lagging behind.

IFPRI, along with the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), India’s premier institution for training civil services officers, conducted a short nutrition course on 6-7 August 2018, in Mussoorie (India), for District Magistrates, District Collectors and District Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) from 32 Aspirational Districts from around the country.  The goal of the short course was to highlight the significance of nutrition in the overall development of these selected districts, and equip the District Magistrates with knowledge and skills to identify and address nutrition-related issues with the use of data and evidence.

Purnima Menon and Rasmi Avula from IFPRI, and Arti Ahuja and Aswathy S from LBSNAA co-convened this two-day short course.  Presenting a vision for a malnutrition-free India, Alok Kumar, Member, NITI Aayog, joined the course for part of the first day.  He highlighted the importance of community engagement in a campaign mode. In addition, recognizing the immediate and underlying factors that impact nutrition, he emphasized the need for a proactive strategy for convergence among various government departments.

Through interactive diagnostic exercises for individual districts, the participants examined their specific District Nutrition Profiles, identified the key vulnerabilities and started the journey towards developing district-focused plans of action for improving the status of nutrition. ‘Taking time away for focused discussions like these and engaging in hands-on exercises, gives us the right framework for aligning our priorities in the direction of addressing nutrition-related issues,’ noted a participant. The District Magistrates are geared-up for taking their districts from aspiration to action, to ensure sustained progress in the area of maternal and child nutrition.