{"id":34917,"date":"2025-01-06T18:30:08","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T13:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=34917"},"modified":"2025-01-06T18:30:09","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T13:00:09","slug":"public-health-nutrition-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/06-01-2025\/public-health-nutrition-policies","title":{"rendered":"Public Health Nutrition Policies Need Novelty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Syllabus :GS2\/Health<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • The recent evaluation published in The Lancet <\/em>assesses the global progress toward the World Health Assembly\u2019s Global Nutrition Targets (GNTs).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Global Nutrition Targets (GNTs)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • It is set by the World Health Assembly to track the impact of public health policies on maternal and child malnutrition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Key targets<\/strong>: Reduce stunting by 40% in children under 5, reduce anemia by 50% in women of reproductive age, and prevent childhood overweight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
      \n
      \"Public-Health-Nutrition-Policies-Need-Novelty\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
        \n
      • Recent Evaluation (The Lancet): <\/strong>Analysis of global progress from 2012-2021, with projections up to 2050.\n
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        • Slow and insufficient progress in most countries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • By 2030, few countries (excluding India) are expected to meet the stunting target, and no country is expected to meet targets for low birthweight, anaemia, or childhood overweight.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          Challenges to Progress:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          • Anaemia in India: <\/strong>Prevalence static for 20 years, despite efforts focused on iron deficiency.\n
              \n
            • Recent studies reveal that iron deficiency accounts for only a third of anaemia, while unknown causes make up another third.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
              \n
              \"Anaemia-in-India\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
                \n
              • A study showed increased anaemia when school meals were stopped, but not due to iron deficiency, suggesting the need for a diverse diet.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Measurement Issues: <\/strong>Different methods for measuring anaemia (venous vs. capillary blood) yield varying results, raising concerns about the accuracy of data.\n
                  \n
                • Diagnostic cut-offs for anaemia and stunting may not be universally applicable, and more accurate metrics are needed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Stunting: <\/strong>Stunting is most prevalent in the first two years of life. Overfeeding after age 2 may lead to being overweight instead of addressing stunting.\n
                    \n
                  • In India, stunting increases from 7-8% at birth to nearly 40% by two years of age.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Early prevention (within the first two years) is key to addressing stunting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Dietary Concerns for Stunting: <\/strong>Poor children in India consume much less fat than needed (7 grams per day vs. the required 30-40 grams).\n
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                    • New POSHAN guidelines now include oil in feeding rations for children under 3, which is a positive step.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                    • Childhood Overweight: <\/strong>Overweight is increasing globally, but it\u2019s still lower than undernutrition rates.\n
                        \n
                      • However, “metabolic overnutrition” (risk of non-communicable diseases) affects around 50% of Indian children aged 5-19, including those who are stunted or underweight.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Overnutrition should be an important policy focus, alongside undernutrition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                        Related Initiatives in\u00a0 India\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                          \n
                        • India has multiple national and local initiatives aimed at combating hunger and malnutrition, focusing on vulnerable populations like low-income families, children, and the elderly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                        • National Food Security Act (NFSA)<\/strong>\u00a0 Provides subsidized food grains to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population, covering 81 crore beneficiaries, including 16 crore women.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                        • Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) <\/strong>launched to support the poor during COVID-19, extended until 2029, providing free food grains to 81.35 crore beneficiaries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                        • PM POSHAN (POshan SHAkti Nirman) Scheme<\/strong> aimed at improving children’s nutritional status in schools, with a budget of \u20b9130,794.90 crore for 2021-2026, targeting hunger and school attendance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                        • Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) <\/strong>focuses on food security for the most vulnerable, supporting over 8.92 crore individuals, including over 2 crore women.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                        • Fortified rice<\/strong>, enhanced with vitamins and minerals, has been distributed through the Public Distribution System (PDS), totaling 406 lakh metric tonnes by March 2024.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                        • The government manages price volatility <\/strong>through the Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) <\/strong>and buffers for commodities like onions, ensuring affordability for low-income groups.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                        • In 2023, the government launched Bharat Dal<\/strong> and subsidized grains like Bharat Atta and Bharat Rice <\/strong>through NAFED, NCCF, and Kendriya Bhandar to maintain affordability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                          Suggestions and the Way Forward:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                            \n
                          • India\u2019s food security initiatives focus on increasing agricultural productivity, improving distribution systems, and ensuring affordable food.\n
                              \n
                            • These efforts, along with nutritional support and sustainable practices,<\/strong> are crucial for long-term food security.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                            • India needs to fill gaps in the nutritional composition of daily diets, focusing on sustainable and nutrient-dense foods.\n
                                \n
                              • \u00a0Incorporating climate-smart crops like millets into daily diets could prevent nutritional deficiencies and diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs).\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                              • Additionally, India must strengthen its data management, improve food distribution accountability, enhance resource management, invest in nutrition education<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                Source: TH<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                The recent evaluation published in The Lancet assesses the global progress toward the World Health Assembly\u2019s Global Nutrition Targets (GNTs).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34917"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34921,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34917\/revisions\/34921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}