What is the News?

Through Mann ki Baat Prime Minister noted that the month of September will be observed as Poshan Maah for Nutrition awareness

What is Nutrition and its need?

Nutrients provide nourishment. Proteins, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water are all nutrients. If people do not have the right balance of nutrients in their diet, their risk of developing certain health conditions increases.

It is important to promote healthy nutrition in all age groups to tackle the risk of health conditions. Both over and under nutrition is harmful to health.

Some of the risky diseases related to Nutrition Malnutrition

• Obesity : caused by excess energy intake,
• Anemia : caused by insufficient intake of iron,
• Thyroid : deficiency disorders due to deficiency in iodine intake
• Impaired vision : inadequate intake of vitamin A

Iron deficiency is the most common and widespread nutritional disorder in the world.

21 per cent of women and 19 per cent of men in India are now overweight or obese. While India is home to the largest number of stunted 46.6 million and wasted 25.5 million children in the world.

Major factors leads to Nutrition deficiency

• Lack of adequate information on nutritional needs, has been identified as a major factor for the prevailing nutritional situation in the country.
• Another reason is poor economic conditions.
• Religion, beliefs, food preferences, gender discrimination, womens’ employment some other factors.

Nutrition Issues in India

• Almost half of children under age five years (48 percent) are chronically malnourished.
• One out of every five children in India under age five years is wasted.
• Forty-three percent of children under age five years are underweight for their age.
• More than half (54 percent) of all deaths before age five years in India are related to malnutrition.
• 22% children are born with low birth weight due to inadequate nutritional intake by mother.

Various Efforts by the Government 

Agricultural Fund of India : complete information about the crops that are grown in each district and their related nutritional value.

Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) : Pre and post delivery care through awareness for nutrition and Breast feeding awareness.

Integrated Child Development Scheme ICDS : Supplementary nutrition, growth monitoring, counselling health education of mothers on child care, promotion of infant and young child feeding, home based counselling for early childhood stimulation, referral and follow up of undernourished and sick children.

Mid Day Meal : Hot cooked meal to children attending school.

MNREGS : Employment Guarantee for 100 days per financial year for adult member of rural household thereby supporting the family economically

Matritva Sahyog Yojana : A conditional cash transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating women of 19 years of age or above for the first live birth. 

National Food Security Mission : To ensure food and nutritional security at affordable price.

National Nutrition Mission/POSHAN Abhiyaan : To reduce stunting, under-nutrition, and anaemia among young children, women and adolescent girls and reducing low birth weight. NITI Aayog has played a critical role in shaping the POSHAN Abhiyaan. 

About Poshan Maah for Nutrition awareness

• Aims to converting nutrition awareness into a mass movement.
• During this month activities related to nutrition awareness will be carried out by all the states/UTs up to the grass root level.
• To give momentum to POSHAN Abhiyan

Source : PIB

Topic 

Prelims : Poshan Maah, Schemes

GS II : Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources

Current Affairs Compilation : 31 August 2020