When the State Integrated Child Development Scheme tallied its child malnutrition figures, they found that a key taluka in Palghar — where figures are usually high — was quietly taking a turn for the better. Two Primary Health Care centres in Mokhada, in the Jawhar subdivision of Palghar, had recorded no child deaths due to malnutrition in the last three months. The records were made during the monsoon this year, a time when the malnourished children are most vulnerable to infection and disease.
Since the region has a history of malnutrition, government initiatives — like the Anganwadi and Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) schemes — were used to their full potential in the area. ASHA volunteers used their cellphones to upload information on malnourished children to the centralised tracking system at Palghar in real-time. “Earlier, considerable and crucial time would be lost,” says Abhijit Bangar, Collector of Palghar. “We saved valuable time.”
This was just the start. The key was to ensure that every stage of the process was at maximum efficiency.
Children who were severely acute malnourished (SAM) or moderately acute malnourished (MAM) with no medical complications were admitted to village child development centres (VCDCs) for 30 days and fed Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF). When mothers, often reluctant to stay that long, skipped skip treatment, an ASHA worker would take nourishment supplements to homes, and locals where taught how to ensure nourishment was within reach.
Another major step was ensure that there was sufficient nutrition being made available. Dr. Rupal Dalal, paediatrician with over a decade in the field, says that educating mothers is important. “Often mothers are not aware that the key to good nourishment is giving home-made food with grains and pulses available locally.” So the administration is encouraging local to use grains like nachni in their daily food.
In addition, several existing state government schemes are being put into practice.
“Earlier industry was not ready to come to these remote tribal areas,” Mr. Bangar says. The lack of resources in the area led to large-scale economic migration. Under a scheme called the Pramod Mahajan Kaushalya Vikas Abhiyan, the administration asked Shruti Apparel, a business house from Umargaon, to train people in the area and subsequently give them jobs in their factory. 148 persons have been trained so far, and will get jobs soon; another batch of 125, including 48 women, is now being trained.
Mr. Bangar says that in the last three or four days, another thirty women expressed an interest in training, but they were reluctant to leave their villages. So under the National Rural Livelihood Misson, the district decided to finance the purchase of sewing machines, and also provide a centre where the women can be trained. “Our target is to lessen migration,” says Bangar. “When a woman migrates, the whole family migrates.”
Vivek Pandit, a former Vasai MLA who has worked in this area, and the founder of Shram Jeevi Sangathana, a peasants and tribals group, raised doubts over the government’s claims. “The government does not have the will to tackle the situation,” he says, claiming that the skill development programs started by the administration will have very minor effect. “How many of the parents are educated? And the government is talking about skill development.” Mr. Pandit also claims that the food provided in under the schemes tasteless and ineffective.
The writer is a freelance journalist
