In SouthAsia, social accountability practitioners have been addressing failures in the ‘standard’ health and nutrition model. What can we learn from them? New research report Social accountability initiatives in health and nutrition: lessons from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh from Transform Nutrition and the Institute of Development Studies.
India
India currently has the largest number of undernourished people in the world, 212 million – only marginally below the 215 million estimated for 1990–92.
Transforming the Food and Nutrition Landscape in Assam
by Neha Raykar, Public Health Foundation of India
Recently, I attended a policy seminar titled ‘Transforming Food and Nutrition Landscape in Assam’ on 29th March 2017 in Guwahati, Assam. The dialogue was co-organized by the Inter-Agency Group, Assam and Coalition for Food & Nutrition Security and was attended by about 50 stakeholders comprising senior policymakers from Government of Assam and Government of India, as well as representatives from local NGOs, educational institutes, and bilateral agencies.
The purpose of the seminar [Read more...]
Challenging dominance: identity politics in the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Programme, India
By Shilpa Deshpande, PhD Candidate, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex
Ten years before I joined the ICDS as an anganwadi worker, my cousin mother-in-law used to work here. At that time, the division of the village population between anganwadi workers was such that lower caste households were served by my mother-in-law whereas only the higher caste households were served by Lata madam, this was her rule….so… my mother-in-law’s field area was scattered across the village. Then when I joined, Lata madam said that just like my mother-in-law I should be given the lower caste communities. I refused…. I said give me any part of the village but I want half and I want it along a continuous line then only will I be able to work. This led to a fight, which continued for several days.
Meena, Anganwadi worker [Read more...]
Transform Nutrition Event: Evidence for action in South Asia
From 2011-2017 Transform Nutrition has been strengthening the content and use of nutrition-relevant evidence, to accelerate the reduction of undernutrition.
On the 8th July 2017 in Kathmandu, Nepal, it will host a regional meeting; ‘Evidence for action in South Asia’ the day before the joint ANH Academy Week and Feed the Future Nutation innovation Lab Agriculture-Nutrition Scientific Symposium, to highlight experiential learning from South Asian countries on key drivers to improve nutrition status.
It will feature evidence on what works in nutrition-sensitive interventions, presented to policymakers from Nepal and international donors and NGOs in the South Asia region. The meeting aims to inform and equip attendees in order to address the particular challenges of tackling child undernutrition in their current contexts.
Basanta Kar, Transform Nutrition Champion, receives Odisha award
We were delighted that one of our 2016 Transform Nutrition Champions, Basanta Kumar Kar was recently awarded an Odisha Living Legend Award for excellence in public policy. This is in recognition of his tireless work on nutrition in South Asia.
Basanta said of his award “It is very satisfying to receive this award in Odisha where I am rooted. This is the state where I experienced multiple deprivations and developed the courage and conviction to overcome these challenges. It is also where I formed my passion for helping people to make changes in their lives. I am confident that Odisha, endowed with rich human and natural resources, can move out of the clutches of a undernutrition and emerge as a talent state; a global nutrition pioneer”.
What factors influence community nutrition workers in performing their jobs? Preliminary findings from Bihar, India
by Aparna John, PhD candidate, Institute of Development Studies at University of Sussex
Child undernutrition rates in India are among the highest in the world (Raykar et.al, 2015). Despite the decline in undernutrition indicators such as stunting (low height for age), underweight (low weight for age) and wasting (low weight for height), India is home to 40 million stunted and 17 million wasted children. The Government of India has invested in efforts to reduce childhood undernutrition and improve maternal and child health through one of its flagship programmes — the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme. ICDS, the world’s largest community nutrition programme, is delivered by 1.34 million village based female workers, Anganwadi workers (AWWs). [Read more...]
Commitment to child nutrition in Odisha
Odisha, India country brief
This Odisha country brief is a summary of findings from our Stories of Change in Nutrition study.
Despite many challenges, Odisha has demonstrated significant commitment to reducing undernutrition, has expanded nationally sponsored nutrition-specific programmes, and has launched state-led initiatives relevant to improving nutrition. How has Odisha achieved these improvements and what is holding it back from accelerating progress?
Find solutions in an Indian way: 2016 Global Nutrition Report launch in New Delhi, India
By Basanta Kumar Kar*
The Coalition for Food and Nutrition Security (CFNS) convened the 2016 Global Nutrition Report launch in on 14 June in New Delhi, India in collaboration with International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Read more...]
India Health Report on Nutrition 2015 – how is it being used?
By Neha Raykar and Kavtia Chauhan, Public Health Foundation of India
Since the release of the India Health Report: Nutrition 2015 (IHR), the team has been engaged in disseminating the report at various platforms. We first launched the report in Delhi at a major event that featured the Ministers of Health, and Women and Child Development of the Government of India. This was a rare joint appearance of these two key Ministers and senior government officials to indicate broad support for an agenda to transform nutrition in India. [Read more...]
