Malnourishment is a silent killer that does not spare even the lives of little children. It is one of the major causes of death of children under the age of five.
Malnutrition is the cause of death of close to half the children in Asia and Africa below five years.
Insufficient nutrition increases susceptibility to various infections and leads to delayed recovery. Three important factors that estimate malnourishment are stunting (low height with respect to age), wasting (low weight for height) and underweight (low weight for age).
Malnourishment in childhood reduces the quality of adulthood
The first 1000 days of a child’s life decide if the child is more likely to be healthy or suffer from malnutrition. This means to say that, poor nutrition of a mother during her pregnancy could lead to a stunted childhood. These stunted children tend to be shorter and weaker. They often have impaired mental development and also tend to perform low in school making them more likely to take up low-payment jobs. Hence, they are unable to provide for their children.
Thus it is imperative to work towards nourishing the present generation of children so that they can contribute directly to the health of the next one.
According to the World Bank, close to 1/3rd of stunted children (below 5 years), live in India.
PM POSHAN Abhiyaan (earlier known as the MidDay Meal Scheme) is one intervention that could reduce these numbers drastically.
Let us take the example of person ‘X’ from a low-income family. He is a daily-wage worker whose salary or savings is not enough to take care of his wife and children. To become a helping hand to the family’s financial situation, he sends his child to work so that he can get some more money for the family’s food. He does not give a choice to his child to choose.
Now, let’s think of another situation where ‘Y’ is a daily-wage worker who is struggling to make ends meet to feed his family of three (along with his wife and child). They are aware of the Government’s MDM scheme and send their child to a nearby Government school with the thought that at least the child will be able to enjoy one proper, wholesome meal once a day. By doing so, they are playing a major role in the child’s education too. These school meals become a reason for the child to attend school without missing even a single day.
This is the power of school meals.
Midday meals (MDM) served as a part of this programme not only give an incentive for parents to send their children to school but also become a reason for children to get educated for the long term.
Providing nutrition; food for children
Mid-day meals become a source of nutrition in children. They help in their physical and cognitive development. How?
Here’s how:
- School meals take care of all the essential nutritional requirements of a child. It helps the child develop in a healthy manner. These meals provided as a part of the PM POSHAN Abhiyaan, take care of carbohydrates, essential fats, proteins, fortified salt, etc.
- Meals nourish children inside-out, providing them with the right energy to expend it by participating in various sports and co-curricular activities. A well-nourished child can play well when compared to a malnourished child.
- It reduces risk the of diseases providing good immunity. Meals prevent diseases like anaemia, partial blindness and give them the strength to fight common diseases like cold, flu, etc.
- Free school meals give them access to education. When children start coming to school on a regular basis, they also get tuned to receiving education on a daily basis.
NGOs play a major role in the implementation the of provision of mid-day meals. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one such organisation that helps children from low-income sections gain the above benefits. It has been serving school meals since 2000 and has grown from feeding 1,500 children to close to 2 million children every day.
Donate online to such NGOs that play an important role to nourish children. You never know how your help could transform the lives of either children or their families or a community on the whole. Extend your support in whichever way possible. Because no support is small help, it has the potential to change lives.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation 