Addressing COVID-19 impact on Child Malnutrition

The lockdown has imposed countrywide closure of several child services. These include services for children in the 0 to 6 years provided under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). Two of the most important services under these are Supplementary Nutrition and Growth Monitoring.

Many state governments have tried to minimize the disruption of the Supplementary Nutrition service by delivering dry rations directly to the homes.

However, growth measurements have not been carried out during the lockdown period. There are also large variations in distribution of the supplementary nutrition to homes, especially the additional quantities to be given to children who are severely acute malnourished. The Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres are not providing services and the hot cooked foodin the Anganwadi Centres, has also stopped.

Further, there is a significant reduction of economic activity across all sectors which in turn means reduced household income. This may force poor families to cut back on essential health and food expenditures. This would have a negative impact on the nutrition status of children especially those who have

been identified in the “severe acute malnutrition” (SAM) and “moderate acute malnutrition” (MAM) categories.

Goal: To ensure malnourishment status of acutely malnourished children does not further deteriorate due to reduction of services  

Objectives:

● To ensure malnourished children get additional supplementary nutrition and improve growth parameters

● To ensure regular growth monitoring of these children 

Strengthen:

● families by scheme linkages of health, sanitation, food security, livelihoods and social security

● Mothers Committees for monitoring Anganwadis and to create a demand for all ICDS services

Activities

Supplementary Nutrition: For 300 children for 2 months in the form of ready-to-cook pre-mixes with prescribed amount of carbohydrates and proteins.

Growth monitoring: Physical distancing norms will continue to make it difficult for ASHA/ Anganwadi workers to monitor every malnourished child through visits. Mothers will be trained to monitor the weight of the child and use an MUAC tape for measurement

Scheme Linkages and Community Mobilisation:

●       Strengthening Mothers Committees in Anganwadi Centers

●       Mobilising community to demand mid day meals, Nutrition Rehabilitation Centers and Growth Monitoring starts as quickly as possible

●       Helping community access schemes related to Health and Hygiene (enrolling in Ayushman Bharath, construction of toilets), Food Security (PDS, School Mid-day meals), MGNREGA , linkages to NRLM and loans from Self Help Groups, Social Security.

● Improvements in growth parameters and nutrition status of 300 malnourished children 

● Regular growth monitoring of these children takes place 

● Mothers learn to monitor the growth of their own child, provide better nutrition and know when to contact a doctor

● Households of malnourished children linked with schemes of health, sanitation, food security, livelihoods and social security because of their direct impact on the nutrition status of mother and child.

● Stronger Mothers Committees who monitor Anganwadis and create a demand for all ICDS services to commence at the earliest