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Correspondence

Indian Pediatr 2018;55: 75

Malnutrition and Health Program

 

Manas Pratim Roy

Directorate General of Health Services, New Delhi.
Email: [email protected]

   


The finding reported by Sachdev, et al. [1] in a recent paper published in Indian Pediatrics contradict the notion that children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) require special treatment. However, the authors reported ‘no dedicated programme for management of SAM’ in Meerut during their study.

Bal Swasthya Poshan Mah (BSPM), a government initiative with support from UNICEF, was launched in 2003, and was scaled up and implemented across the UP state, including in Meerut. The program has its special focus on referral of undernourished children, bi-annual supplementation of vitamin A, iodized salt consumption, exclusive breastfeeding, and complementary feeding. The activities were linked with outreach plans of Auxillary Nurse Midwives [2].

The authors, while observing the fate of SAM children, did not consider the effect of the above program on the health of the children. The apparent reduction in case fatality rate of SAM in the study under discussion could be due to provision of referral for malnourished children under the ongoing program activities. In fact, the program has been appreciated for keeping synchronization with the immunization activities and thus, not disturbing the routine of front line health workers [3].

In this regard, it could be mentioned that National Family Health Survey, conducted at similar time period, found 4.9% prevalence of severe wasting from rural Meerut [4].

References

1. Sachdev HS, Sinha S, Sareen N, Pandey RM, Kapil U. Survival and recovery in severely wasted under-five children without community management of acute malnutrition programme. Indian Pediatr. 2017. (ahead of print)

2. Government of Uttar Pradesh and UNICEF. Mission Poshan: Uttar Pradesh State strategy for 11th five year plan. Directorate of ICDS and Department of Women and Child Development, Uttar Pradesh; 2006.

3. Shaikh S, Dwivedi S. Monitoring of BSPM activities in two intensive districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Indian J Prev Soc Med. 2011;42:149-53.

4. International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and Macro International. National Family Health Survey (NFHS 4), 2015 16: Meerut. Mumbai: IIPS; 2017.

 

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