We tend to look at a nation’s progress increasingly, and almost exclusively, in terms of its economic and business statistics. India is now invited to the high table as a growing economy, with its annual financial growth rate of over 4 per cent. Internally too, we have setup many mechanisms, policies, catalysts, monitors, watch dogs and advisors on the economy and wealth front. The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, Niti Ayog , RBI, CAGI, SEBI, FICCI and many other acronyms and monickers play a role in this. And it is a matter of satisfaction that over the decades, India has done well in the area of economic growth and wealth.
We were taught that health is wealth. How true has this proverb been? Here, we need to realize that India is a nation of the young. Of the 1.271 billion Indians, over 65 per cent (or over 820 million) are below the age of 35. Further, we have about 160 million Indians below of age of 6. This is larger than the entire population of Japan, or of Russia or of Bangla Desh. Futurologists claim that this “demographic dividend” should help India’s growth in the coming years.
But sadly enough, 30 per cent of Indian children under the age of 6 are stunted in growth, 15 per cent under 5 years are wasted, and their mothers are anaemic and underweight. Their health is no wealth. If only we take measures to improve their health, growth and development, their contributions to India’s well being in the coming years can be enhanced. An unhealthy child cannot perform well while a healthy one can contribute to a healthy and wealthy nation. Health can thus indeed be wealth. It is therefore a moral duty of a nation to ensure the health of its citizens. In order that we realize the Swasth Bharat that Mr. Modi wishes to bring about, we need to act and do so with speed and vigour.
Gratifyingly, successive governments of India (and of its many states) since Independence have realized this and made efforts. A major player in this endeavour has been the group of nutrition scientists of India. These people, who work at institutions such as the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) at Hyderabad, under the aegis of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) of the Union Ministry of Health, have long been the unsung heroes of Swasth Bharat . They are not flashy, do not grab headlines nor make bombastic claims. It is time we pay our tribute to their continuing efforts. It is thanks to their efforts that many a child born with inherited disorders like PKU (Phenyl ketonuria which effects one in 16,000) has been saved, by detecting and offering treatment within 3 weeks of birth; or of kwashiorkor (by offering high protein diets), goitre (by adding iodine in salt), diarrhoea (giving oral rehydration solution), night blindness (giving mega doses of vitamin A), iron deficiency (offering iron supplement with rice) and so forth. It is thanks to their efforts that vaccines for measles, hepatitis, polio, and now rotavirus have been made and immunized millions and millions of Indians. It is thanks to their efforts that we have reliable knowledge of the nutritive value of traditional Indian food such as Idli, Samosa, Roti and Dal, Rice and Sambar , various pulses, oils, greens and such. Their book “The Nutritive Value of Indian Foods and the Planning of Satisfactory Diets” (first published as a health bulletin in 1937, as a book in 1971, revised in 1989, and reprinted almost yearly since then, and priced at a ridiculous Rs 60. With it, you know what you eat. (If only they redesign the get-up of the book, add colourful pictures, give it a catchier title and have someone like Kapil Dev recommend it, they will make millions).
Just as we have groups in economics and business which survey, monitor, do surveillance and offer suggestions on the economy of the states and the nation, a body called The National Nutrition Monitoring Board (NNMB), set up as early as in 1972, has been doing silent, and remarkable service to the nation. It is NNMB that has provided the national food policy, highlighted micronutrient deficiency and suggested supplementations such as fortified salt (with iodine, iron), fortified atta , midday meal components in schools, what to offer during drought for specific population groups and so on. Details of its 26 reports can be had at www.nnmbindia.org. It is the NNMB which can provide the government with what can be the best supplements to add in the Midday Meals program for school children, initiatives on the food security program, inputs on the nutritional status of beneficiaries, what the best dietary components would be for various groups and so on.
By monitoring what you eat, analyzing its values, suggesting remedies and improvement, and offering timely advice to the government, nutritionists have been doing invaluable service to the health of the nation. It is vital that this continues without a break or any unnecessary interventions. Continuity is important. It is here that the government should stop dithering (as it has for well over a year) appoint the Chief of ICMR , Director of NIN, and stabilize and strengthen the NNMB as an integral and permanent entity rather than jettisoning it.
D. BALASUBRAMANIAN
dbala@lvpei.org
