Centre chops off  WHO food prescription

The Central government will not allow RUTF for battling severe acute malnutrition in India amidst concerns that it may replace India’s nutritional practices.
Centre chops off  WHO food prescription

NEW DELHI: The Central government will not allow RUTF (ready to eat therapeutic foods) for battling severe acute malnutrition in India amidst concerns that it may replace India’s nutritional practices and family foods.RUTF is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for handling severe acute malnutrition. India has a high rate of malnutrition cases with nearly 36 per cent of its population—mainly children and women—undernourished.The Centre fears that RUTF will be unsustainable and will negatively impact breastfeeding of children and their dietary diversity of food.  

According to a senior official of the Ministry of Women and Child development (WCD), the issue of use of therapeutic foods for management of children with severe acute malnutrition has been raised by various states from time to time.Citing an order of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the WCD ministry has now written to all states clarifying its stand that use of therapeutic food is not an accepted policy of the government. The ministry said there is not enough evidence on the use of therapeutic food in management of severe acute malnutrition.

The communiqué to social welfare departments in states added, “It will also undermine the importance of providing nutrition counselling for improved infant and young child feeding practices and sustainable solutions for improving food availability and dietary diversity.”To deal with malnutrition, the Centre announced this week increasing the spending for supplementary nutrition to 11 crore children and women under the umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme. The revision of cost norms for nutrition for beneficiaries of aanganwadi services would cost an additional `12,000 crore in next 
three years.

Where India Stands

According to the National Family Health Survey IV (2015-16), the percentage of under nutrition in India is 35.7, stunting 38.4 per cent and wasting 21 per cent. As per this report, there has been a reduction of 1 per cent per year in malnutrition percentage in last 10 years (since 2005-06). India is aiming to bring down the number by 2020.

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