New Delhi, May 24 (UNI) Addressing women’s well-being and education was critical to any strategy focused on reducing child stunting in India, says a new study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
It says that nearly three-fourth of the differences in childhood stunting between low and high burden Indian districts can be explained by differences in women’s low body mass index.
The study is the first to utilise district-level data to highlight spatial differences in stunting across 640 districts in the country.
According to the study, differences in stunting prevalence between low and high burden districts of India are explained by differences in women's low body mass index (19% of the difference), education (12%), children's adequate diet (9%), assets (7%), open defecation (7%), age at marriage (7%), antenatal care (6%), and household size (5%).
Authored by IFPRI researchers Purnima Menon, Rasmi Avula, Derek Headey, and Phuong Nguyen, the study analysed the National Family Health Survey-IV district-level summary data to examine the differences in childhood stunting between low and high burden districts of India.
The analysis comes at a time when the government’s POSHAN Abhiyan (or National Nutrition Mission) has stated a district-level focus for action and has recently added 235 additional districts for inclusion in the second phase of the campaign.
Welcoming the Indian government’s new nationwide initiative to reduce stunting, Purnima Menon, Senior Research Fellow at IFPRI said, “Our study shows that additional determinants such as gender and poverty must also be addressed district-by-district, to reduce these inequities and contribute to stunting reduction.”
Co-author Phuong Nguyen added, “The majority of India’s stunted children are in a subset of districts spread across the northern parts of India. The new Nutrition Mission must focus on addressing the major determinants identified in these districts to be able to close the gaps with other lower burden districts.”
POSHAN (Partnerships and Opportunities to Strengthen and Harmonise Actions for Nutrition in India) is a multi-year initiative that aims to build evidence and decision-making on effective actions for nutrition. It is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and led by Washington-headquartered IFPRI.
NITI Aayog will monitor progress on the roll-out of this new National Nutrition Mission, with support from IFPRI and the Tata Trusts.
Aayog Health Advisor Alok Kumar said, “The new study supports our current efforts which is cross-sectoral and district-focused.”
The study stresses that initiatives to address under nutrition in each district in the National Nutrition Mission will fall short without prioritised actions to improve the socio-economic, nutritional and health status of girls and women — their nutrition, education, early marriage, and access to care during and after pregnancy — and improvements in sanitation and overall socio-economic status of the household.
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