Malnourishment is the Nation’s biggest Developmental issue
A child, as soon he/she is
conceived starts growing and requires proper nutrition. After birth, especially
after he/she start consuming food for the first time, it is imperative that
they receive appropriate amount of nutrients including a high protein and fat
diet. Unfortunately in some families, due to extreme poverty and often
negligence, children are not able to receive that balanced diet. A child can be
well fed but not well nourished if the diet does not include protein and fats.
Therefore we see stunted growth or ill developed cognitive functions in many
children below the age of three. These irregularities will have an everlasting
impact. The lack of proper nutrition may lead to improper physical or cognitive
development and might eventually lead to his/her under performance growing up.
Underperforming workforce will definitely have a big impact on our national GDP
and development. Therefore nutrition/malnutrition isn’t just a personal issue
but a national issue.
A proper diet of children is
age specific and must contain high amount of protein, fats and mineral, which
includes cereals and pulses with milk, oil/ghee and milk along with vegetables
and iodized salt for minerals. The food being served must be, along with
nutritious, must be sanitized and fresh. Fresh and warm food served in clean
dishes is as important as serving food to start with. Often we see that
children do not like to eat and show preferences over different food dishes and
parents unfortunately adher by the child’s preferences than looking at their
actual dietary requirement. It is the responsibility of the caregiver to
prepare and cook the food in a way that is appropriate both for the dietary
requirement of the child and his/her palate. Our creches in Sundargarh ensure that each
child consumes the above diet as prescribed by NHM and all food being prepared
is in adherence to the guideline isuued by DMF and each child likes the taste
of it. Therefore special cooking instruction is issued to our creche workers
for that matter. Also special attention is given to children under SAM and MAM
based on the prescription by NRC or medical officers from PHC. It is our aim to
ensure that each child in our watch is well nourished, healthy and happy.
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