https://sputnikglobe.com/20220921/millets-can-be-panacea-to-indias-hidden-hunger-member-of-nutritional-program-poshan-says-1101050017.html

Millets May Be Panacea to India's Hidden Hunger, India Nutritional Program Member Says

Millets May Be Panacea to India's Hidden Hunger, India Nutritional Program Member Says

Sputnik International

September is dedicated to the POSHAN campaign, or Prime Minister's Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition, in India to improve the country’s food situation... 21.09.2022, Sputnik International

2022-09-21T14:41+0000

2022-09-21T14:41+0000

2022-12-10T11:37+0000

india

narendra modi

food crisis

food security

malnutrition

staple crop

interviews

intervention

southeast asia

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Sputnik spoke to Dr. Chandrakant Sambhaji Pandav, a member of the government's National Council for India’s Nutritional Challenges, on the health concerns and the impact of the pandemic on food security in India.Popularly known as the “Iodine Man of India” for his work in eliminating iodine deficiency disorders, Panda was conferred with the country's civilian honor Padma Shri in 2021.Sputnik: A National Family Health survey has suggested a very high level of malnutrition still exists in the country. How do you evaluate the government's nutrition program in this regard?Dr. Pandav: The program, though launched in March 2018, took a year or so for states to initiate actions on several components of the scheme. Further guidance for some components, like performance incentives and innovations, was released later in 2019. So, considering this, it would be too early to evaluate it based on the National Family Health Survey-5 data collected during the initial stages of implementation of the nutritional program.Further impact of nutrition interventions cannot be expected immediately. In a situation complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with its direct or indirect effect, evaluating the efforts at this early stage is not fair. However, , Poshan Abhiyaan has definitely provided the required push to the nutrition agenda in the country, with clear targets and convergent action plans in place.Sputnik: Do you worry that the findings of the next survey will be grimmer, given that more than half of the population battled a prolonged phase of loss of income, food insecurity, and disease burden during the pandemic-induced lockdown?Dr. Pandav: The COVID-19 pandemic, along with its devastating waves, has heightened the risk of nutritional vulnerabilities in India through disruption in services, loss of livelihood, increasing food prices and repeated episodes of economic distresses.Analysis of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data and other studies conducted during the pandemic reveal large-scale job loss and economic hardship caused to people, with daily wage workers, migrant laborers, women workers and small farmers more adversely affected.There were disruptions in the agricultural sector as well, with many studies reporting supply chain issues, non-availability of markets, and a sharp decline in prices of non-cereal agricultural produces due to non-availability of markets, in turn causing loss of income and economic hardships, particularly for women and small farmers.Food security became a major challenge, with many studies reporting a reduction in food consumption due to economic hardships; again, this was more pronounced among economically weaker sections of society.The government initiated various measures to mitigate the crisis by allocating additional food rations for the vulnerable.However, while these measures provided succor to a large section of the population, accessibility was reported to be a challenge for many vulnerable communities, like migrant laborers, nomadic and denotified tribes, or by households left out of the National Food Security Act safety net due to the exclusion or implementation errors.Very little information is available on the impact of the COVID pandemic on the anthropometric status of children or adults. A few small studies during this period show varied results; while some studies report weight loss among adults, others have reported increased BMI [body-mass index]. However, these studies are limited by the small sample size and cannot be generalized. NFHS-6 [the next survey] might show us the longer-term impact of the pandemic.Sputnik: PM Modi has emphasized the need to promote millets in Indian diets. Sputnik: PM Modi has emphasized the need to promote crereals in Indian diets. What could be done to popularize this 'superfood' among the masses? Should the government replace rice and wheat with millets/cereals in lunchtime meals and other schemes?Dr. Pandav: PM Modi has rightly emphasized the importance of millets to raise the nutrition quotient of Indian diets, address malnutrition & the burden of chronic health issues among Indians, and protect the environment. Millets are highly nutritious, hypoallergenic, traditional grains, and also a sustainable crop. They are also adaptable to a wide range of ecological conditions.Millets can be a path-breaking step to eradicating hidden hunger and the huge burden of malnutrition in India. Malabsorption of iron, vitamin B12, and other nutrients is the root cause of nutrient deficiencies in our population—one of the main reasons for the failure of several programs to eradicate anemia. Changing staples can be a major step in changing the health of our population.It will require consumers, food manufacturers, and other stakeholders to come together to bring millets back to our kitchens.Sputnik: Despite high-level economic growth, why does India fail to achieve the desired level in reducing malnutrition?Dr. Pandav: Undernutrition and overnutrition, both, are major public health problems in India.No doubt there is high economic growth in India. We are the fifth largest growing economy, globally. The question here is that of equity. The averages hide the truth. Therefore, it is crucial to know the urban and rural income distribution.The improvement in malnutrition requires time. It is an inter-generational problem. A generation is equal to 20 to 30 years.Sputnik: Are you satisfied with the budget allocation for the POSHAN campaign?Dr. Pandav: YES. I am satisfied with the budget allocation of the Poshan Mission. Allocation of the budget is the first step. What is more critical is the utilization of the budget.Only three large states, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra, have utilized more than 50 percent budget allocated for the Poshan Mission. We have to think out of the box to ensure 100 percent utilization of the allocated budget. Every six months, monitoring of utilization should be done with community representation.Sputnik: PM Modi said that India is prepared to take the initiative for a new Shanghai Cooperation Organization working group on traditional medicines. Could the traditional health system (AYUSH) help in fighting malnutrition?Dr. Pandav: While the involvement of AYUSH and other allied systems to adopt traditional good practices to prevent malnutrition and diseases is well intended, it is critical to systematically build the approach based on available evidence for achieving the results at scale. Building evidence on the traditional knowledge and practices to influence nutrition status is vital to strengthen this approach further and achieve significant results.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220920/india-facing-tough-decision-over-fate-of-worlds-largest-free-food-program-1101005613.html

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india, narendra modi, food crisis, food security, malnutrition, staple crop, interviews, intervention, southeast asia