When 28-year-old Ekta Chawda became pregnant last year, local Anganwadi in Pamol village, an hour’s drive from Vadodara, gave her three packets each month containing a soft white mixture. Each 1.5kg packet of the mixture, which consisted of wheat, gram flour, soybean flour, sugar, oil, rice and corn, was rich in protein and nutrients.
Chowda added ghee to the mixture to cook sweet dishes (sierra) or to make tepla. Both are commonly consumed in Gujarat. “I didn’t like the taste, but I ate it,” she said.
Chawda’s family was engaged in farm labor, so they had little money to spend on food while she was pregnant. The local Anganwadi Center, under the State Department of Women and Child Development, provides care and nutrition for children under the age of 6 and pregnant and lactating women.
After Chawda’s birth, anganwadi began offering similar packets called Balshakti for her six-month-old son. But Chawda’s son, now a year old, vomits food cooked with the mixture, and although Mr. Chawda told the workers in Anghanwadi to stop handing out food ration parcels, he was of no help. said there wasn’t. “She says take the packet and do whatever you want,” Chawda said.
Chawda now dumps the contents into his neighbor’s cow feed container. “I tried, [but] My son doesn’t like the taste,” she said.
Several rounds of National Family Health Survey data show concern over nutrition levels in Gujarat, especially among children. We distribute these ready-to-cook, energy-dense, micronutrient-enriched foods to pregnant and nursing mothers.
Gujarat has over 5.3 million beneficiaries under Anganwadi. From 2020 to 2021, the government has provided takeaway rations of food mixtures to his beneficiaries of Rs 381.8 crore. It has also set aside a budget of Rs 723.4 crore per year for takeaway rations and hot cooked meals. It was not clear how much was assigned to individual food mixture packets.
However, field reports and feedback from Anganwadi indicate that children find the nutrient-rich food packets unappetizing, posing a challenge for the state.
Sunita Makwan, a health activist at the Kaila Social Services Society, a nonprofit that works on health and women’s issues, said the government intends to continue takeaway rations despite feedback. “So much money is being wasted to raise it,” she said. “Governments know women are throwing rations away.”
“At least the cows are getting healthier.”
Daksha Prajapati, an Anganwadi worker in Pamor village in Anand district, told her boss about complaints from village mothers. “Kids prefer cooked meals to those packets,” she added while watching children eat a hot meal of rice and dal without fuss at Anganwadi.
Reshma Chawda tried to make Sheila for her daughter Diksha from mixed food, but gave up after a few days and fed the contents to cows. “At least the cows are getting healthier,” she said.
Madhuben Chaudha, who owns cows and buffaloes in the same village, stopped buying fodder after some villagers gave food rations to her cows. Her granddaughter, now 4, likes other children in the village, and likes a hot meal at Anganwadi.
Rushida Chawda, 37, has two children in Anganwadi. When Anganwadi workers advised her on the benefits of her fortified food mixture, she made chapatti and sheela for her son. “He ate it first,” she said. “But he didn’t gain weight,” she said. Then he started throwing up food. My eldest daughter, who is 5 years old, also eats at Anganwadi.
KK Nirala, secretary of the state’s Department of Women’s and Child Development, said the fortified food packets are meant to supplement a child’s diet.
worsening trend
In Gujarat, the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey, conducted from 2019 to 2021, found that 25.1% of children under the age of five surveyed suffered from wasting or were too thin for their height. was shown. This was far worse than the national average of her 19.3%. That’s not all. Gujarat’s performance in this regard has deteriorated. A third round of the National Family Health Survey, conducted in 2005-2006, found that 19% of her children under the age of five in the state suffered from wasting.
From 2019 to 2021, the number of stunted (children too young for their age) in Gujarat was 39% among children under the age of 5, compared to the national average of 35%. Also, nearly 40% of his children under the age of 5 were underweight, compared with 32% at the national level.
India’s national averages for stunting, wasting and underweight babies have improved compared to previous surveys, while figures in Gujarat show little change or worsening .
This decline is particularly pronounced in rural areas of the state, as shown in the table.
A screening exercise by the state government found that by November 2021, 164,000 out of 211,000 children tested were suffering from severe acute malnutrition.
According to epidemiologist Dr. Pradeep Awate, “Malnutrition makes it harder for children to fight infections. These effects persist into adulthood.
Hardened, but packed
Before introducing mixed food rations, the Gujarat government implemented a scheme called Bal Bhog. Under this scheme, nutritional supplements were distributed in various forms. Packaged food, then chocolate. The state government also distributed parcels of sukadi (a sweet Gujarati dish), sheela and upma along with these take-home supplements. For children aged 3 to her 6, cooked meals are served hot at Anganwadi.
In 2019, the state government signed an agreement with the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which operates Amul, to manufacture and distribute fortified food rations, with the aim of improving the nutritional status of children under the age of three. Under the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, Kaira, Banas and Surat district associations have set up separate factories to produce 200 tonnes of fortified food mixtures per day.
Currently, healthy children are given 3.5 kg balshakti packets and milk every month, and malnourished children are given 5 kg packets. A severely malnourished child should consume 185 grams of this packaged food daily. Adolescent girls are offered 4 kg of a variant called ‘Purna Shakti’ per month, and pregnant and lactating mothers are provided with her 4 kg of ‘Matru Shakti’ per month.
Chirag Qadr, a health activist in Kasol, a village in Anand district, where Amur’s headquarters is located, said the diets of locals varied. They prefer chapattis, dal, rice and vegetables to processed foods.
“The Anganwadi workers tried to consult the women about the benefits of rations and also talked about different recipes,” said Qadr. “But people are refusing to switch.” claimed to be
Activist for change
Activists in Dahod, Anand, Vadodara and Ahmedabad said they called on the government to change the taste of food mixes to improve consumption or switch to hot cooked meals. “But there is no attempt to make the rations more suitable for children,” said Renu Khanna of the nonprofit Sahaj.
A survey of 750 ration beneficiaries conducted between December 2020 and February 2021 found that some children did not like the taste of rations. The survey was conducted by his Krunal C Kamani, Assistant Professor at Anand Agricultural College, across his 24 districts in Gujarat. Twenty-five percent of his respondents said their children didn’t like the taste of food rations, and 35% complained about poor food rations. Only 9.6% of respondents said they were satisfied with mixed food rations.
Of all the beneficiaries surveyed, 743 had an income of less than Rs.2 million per year and relied on free rations to support their families. The research paper recommends that the state improve the taste of rations while also making Anganwadi more child-friendly and improving access to rations in rural areas.
Secretary of State Nilala said the government was working on feedback and would add millet to take-out food packets. “Within Gujarat, people in Saurashtra prefer salty food and in central Gujarat they prefer sweet food,” Nilala said. “We are trying to create a neutral taste.” He said people could add salt or sugar to prepare a proper meal.
Health activist Savita Gursingh Baria, who works in Dahod and Mahisagar districts, says that traditional and familiar foods that match the dietary patterns of beneficiaries are better. “Hot cooked meals work best,” she said, adding that Anganwadi can monitor beneficiaries’ food consumption. You may be deficient in the nutrients you need. Takeaway food rations are convenient for beneficiaries and also reduce the burden on Anganwadi who provide ready-to-cook meals.
Baria said the government continues to ration the mixed food, claiming it is healthy. ?” she said. According to Barrier, several adolescent girls who eat foods made using the ration mixture continue to have low hemoglobin. Is required.”
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