CHENNAI: Explaining why Aavin’s milk whitening powder was not considered by the government for distribution to pregnant mothers, Director of Public Health (DPH) Dr T S Selvavinayagam said that Aavin was told to consider the feasibility of adding components recommended by the ICMR and the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) to its powder, and the process took time.“Aavin was instructed to test the product at an independent laboratory and forward the report to the government for approval,” he added.
Health Minister Ma Subramanian, along with Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan, DPH Selvavinayagam, and Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation Managing Director Deepak Jacob held a press conference on Monday to counter the allegations levelled by BJP State President K Annamalai against the Health Department.
Annamalai had alleged that the State health department was to procure a health mix and iron supplement for pregnant women from a private firm, and the move may cause a loss of Rs 77 crore to the exchequer. The State must offer these tenders only to State-run agencies and prevent the loss, he had said.
DPH Selvavinayagam said the State Planning Commission Chairman had called for a meeting on February 22, 2022, to discuss the feasibility of adding ICMR-recommended components to Aavin milk powder. Two meetings regarding it were conducted, one on March 7, and the other on March 15, in which the Aavin GM participated. Since it was a lengthy process, and was getting delayed, the Health Department decided to float tenders with existing specifications, explained Selvavinayagam.
He added that the health mix provided to pregnant women not only has protein but 32 more components including Vitamin A, E, D and K, Folic Acid, Magnesium, Iron, B12, and saturated fat. The iron syrup also has amino acids and micro nutrients apart from folic acid.
At the presser, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said that only two similar products should be compared and not different products. An apple cannot be compared with an orange or lemon, he said in response to K Annamalai's allegations.
Health Minister Ma Subramanian added that the health mix has been formulated as per WHO recommendations. During the previous two years, due to the Covid pandemic, the products were not provided to pregnant women. After a two-year gap, only now a tender has been floated, he said.
On June 5, in a statement, the health minister had said, “The 100mg folic acid syrup and elemental iron 20mg supplements cannot be compared as their usage is different. Similarly, the mothers’ health mix provided under Amma Maternal and Child Health Kits cannot be compared with dairy whitener, a milk powder, which doesn’t have nutritional value needed for mothers. Only the mothers’ health mix has nutritional values recommended by the WHO.”
Tender still in the works
It should be noted that the tender bid has not been finalised, said J Radhakrishnan. Meanwhile, Deepak Jacob said the tender is in the final stages of evaluation. It was floated on February 10, 2022, and the results of the tender will be published, and grievances will also be sought from stakeholders.
Simultaneously, the product will also be evaluated before opening the financial bids. In the earlier tender, the mothers’ health mix’s MRP was Rs 588, and its tender price was Rs 460.50, while iron syrup’s MRP was Rs 112, and its tender price was Rs 74.50, said Deepak Jacob.
Will issue detailed report, says Annamalai
Ramanathapuram: BJP State president K Annamalai in Ramanathapuram district on Monday said, "The Health Minister has refuted the allegations I raised regarding the health mix kits, I will be releasing a detailed report about it. After I revealed information about the private company which got the tender to distribute the kits, they have suddenly added more companies to the list.”