Initiative for Ensuring Nutrition Among Children in Jhabua District of Madhya Pradesh

Malnutrition is among the gravest problems in the remote areas of India. “Batiya Baadi’ is one of such village in the Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh. According to data from the National Family Health Survey IV, the tribal Jhabua district has 45.6 per cent malnutrition rate, while the state's average is 40 per cent. Jhabua geographically divided into villages that are further divided into many ‘Faliyas (hamlets)’.One such faaliya is Sigaad Faliya of Batiya Baadi Village which suffers a major crisis in terms of malnutrition among children and pregnant women. Since birth, children are found under tragic condition of malnutrition and sanitation; hygiene condition make them vulnerable to poor health. Poor public infrastructure and amenities further complicate the condition of the villagers. Usually, villagers migrate for their livelihood and leave their children behind which makes them even more vulnerable to severe health conditions.

Jan Sahas' team recognized that a problem as complex as malnutrition can not be dealt by a single method. Hence, we use a variety of interventions to cater to this problem. As anganwadi workers are among the most important stakeholders in this process, we make constant efforts to improve their involvement in our processes to make them sustainable. Our main interventions to deal with malnutrition in Jhabua are:

1. Health Check-ups and Distribution of supplements: Through regular check ups of children between age 0 to 5, pregnant and lactating women, we try to ensure that no child or mother is left behind with chances of malnutrition. When we come across cases of potential malnutrition, we initiate the counselling of mothers towards following instructions to ensure balanced diets, preparing and feeding supplement and following good hygiene practices.
2. Awareness and Consciousness Raising: We arrange awareness camps and hold community meetings with families and anganwadi workers around healthy practices as simple as washing hands, boiling water, rinsing vegetables etc. We additionally provide information on common diseases and ways to prevent them.
3. Medical tests and treatment: In cases of severe malnutrition of children, anemia in pregnant or lactating women or complications in pregnancy, we provide medical assistance to the patient by shifting them to "Choithram Hospital" a leading hospital specialized in neo-natal and post-natal facilities. The treatment is being carried out free of cost to the patient.

Jan Sahas aims at total elimination of malnutrition from Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh.