Food Security Atlas Of RURAL MAHARASHTRA - WFP Remote ...

Infants and Young ChildrenBox 7.8: Meeting the Nutritional Needs of Vulnerable GroupsAccording to the National Family Health Survey 3 (NFHS-3, 2005-06), in India 40.4 per cent and 44.9 per cent of children under3 years of age are underweight and stunted, respectively. The prevalence of underweight and stunting continually increases upto the age group of 18-23 months. This indicates that there is need for improvement in complementary feeding practices, andin the quality of complementary foods fed to infants and young children. Besides the high rates of malnutrition, the infant mortalityrate is also quite high at 57 per 1,000 live births.During the first two years of life, significant cognitive development and physical growth occurs that requires adequate nutritionas well as good care practices. Damage that may occur at this early age is often irreversible and has lifetime consequences.Therefore, it is of critical importance that children receive proper nutrition in the first few years of life.In order to address the prevalence of widespread malnutrition and the high infant mortality rate that impede human development,the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is developing a low-cost ‘ready-to-use supplementary food’ (RUSF). Themain ingredients in the ready-to-eat food will be cereal, oil, sugar, pulse, peanut paste and milk powder. In addition, the readyto-eatfood will be fortified with an array of micronutrients and will be packaged in individual hygienic serving sachets.The food will be rigorously tested in a laboratory to ensure that it is compliant with internationally accepted standards. Next,acceptability trials will be carried out to determine how suitable the product is for the targeted beneficiaries. Finally, pilot distributionof the RUSF will be through the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) to infants and young children aged 6-24 monthsliving in Nabarangapur District, Orissa. During the pilot distribution, an efficacy study will be conducted to assess the impact onthe growth and micronutrient status of children receiving the RUSF compared to children receiving other foods.The above-mentioned employment-based schemes are meant to meet the needs of shorter-term oreven transient (seasonal) food insecurity. By increasing the quantities of public entitlements to foodthey can deal, to an extent, with immediate problems of hunger. If these foods are fortified, orsupplements given as in the ICDS schemes, protein and fat deficiencies could also be temporarilytackled. But any solution to food insecurity requires an increase in the regular access to food in sufficientquantity and quality. This requires an increase in the production and earning capacity of the householdsand individuals too, given that there are gender-based discriminations in the distribution of food andallied health-care services within households. It is important, therefore, that food schemes be linkedwith development activities.*****98 FOOD SECURITY ATLAS OF RURAL MAHARASHTRA