COVERAGE OF NUTRITION AND HEALTH INTERVENTIONS IN GUJARAT: INSIGHTS FROM THE NATIONAL FAMILY HEALTH SURVEY-4

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In the recently concluded National Nutrition Month, nation-wide activities were organized under POSHAN Abhiyaan to address the nutritional challenges in India. We present this Data Note that describes the coverage of a set of key nutrition and health interventions in Gujarat, situated on the west coast of India. The findings here are based on data from the National Family Health Survey 2015-2016.

Nutrition-specific interventions are aimed at improving the proximal food, health, and care environment for women and children during the first 1000 days. These interventions span pregnancy, postnatal, and early childhood periods and include food and micronutrient supplementation, nutrition education and/or counselling, growth monitoring and promotion, as well as routine immunization, deworming, and care during illness. They can help improve maternal and child health, improve diets and other nutrition practices, and reduce infections.

Findings of this Data Note reveal that Gujarat has a fairly high coverage (≥75%) of interventions before and during pregnancy, like iodized salt, any antenatal care (ANC) visits, mother and child protection (MCP) cards, iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation, weighing, and tetanus toxoid injection. However, the coverage of interventions like consumption of IFA for more than 100 days, deworming, breastfeeding counselling, and health & nutrition education is below 50%, and the state should focus efforts on increasing it. For deeper insights into the coverage of key nutrition and health interventions in Gujarat, with district-wise status, please download this Data Note on "Coverage of Nutrition and Health Interventions in GUJARAT: Insights from the National Family Health Survey-4".