The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog launched National Nutrition Strategy aimed at Kuposhan Mukt Bharat. It intends at bringing nutrition to centre-stage of National Development Agenda. It lays down roadmap for targeted action to address India’s nutritional needs.
National Nutrition Strategy:
- The national nutrition strategy calls for convergence between four proximate determinants of nutrition:
- uptake of health services,
- food,
- drinking water & sanitation and
- income & livelihoods.
- It envisages Kuposhan Mukt Bharat – linked to Swachh Bharat and Swasth Bharat.
- The strategy lays down a roadmap for effective action, among both implementers and practitioners, in achieving our nutrition objectives.
- It enables states to make strategic choices, through decentralized planning and local innovation, with accountability for nutrition outcomes.
- It also gives prominence to demand and community mobilisation as key determinant to address India’s nutritional needs to bring behavioural change efforts to generate demand for nutrition services.
Why is it needed?
- In India, 20% of children under five years of age suffer from wasting due to acute under-nutrition.
- It pays an income penalty of 9 to 10% due to workforce that was stunted during their childhood.
- The NFHS-4 results shows decline in overall levels of under nutrition in both women and children.
- Currently, there is lack of real time measurement of nutritional determinants, which reduces capacity for targeted action among most vulnerable mothers and children.