Ranchi, Sept. 23: Governor Droupadi Murmu today called for a special programme to fight malnutrition among children belonging to the particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) of Jharkhand.
Speaking as the chief guest at a dissemination workshop on Karunaproject, launched in Gumla in 2012 by NGOs Vikas Bharti and Save the Children with help from government to check malnutrition in children, the governor said a similar dedicated initiative was the need of the hour for PVTGs.
"Around 70 per cent of PVTGs in our state are malnourished. When Karuna has succeeded in checking malnutrition in Gumla, I am sure it will help in doing the same for PVTGs. Efforts should be taken in that regard," she said.
Karunafocused on improving infant and young child feeding practices to prevent malnourishment through capacity building programmes for mothers, health workers and Mata Samitis.
At the workshop, it was said that of 52 children who were given medical nutrition therapy during the project period, 40 were cured of malnutrition. Eleven had to be admitted at a malnutrition treatment centre. Only one was a failure as the child showed no improvement.
Blaming early marriage and subsequent motherhood as one of the main reasons for newborns suffering from malnutrition, the governor sought to draw the attention of government officials and NGOs towards the need of a holistic approach to prevent young girls from getting married.
"Girls who are married off at a very young age have less knowledge of health problems they face during early motherhood. They become mothers and give birth to unhealthy babies," she pointed out.
Highlighting the need for adopting a project that would focus exclusively on changing food habits in villages, she said, "Work with anganwadis. Entrust them to establish dialogues with mothers and children, stress on hygiene."
Murmu advised the officials to start an exclusive awareness drive to guide mothers and girls to consume good food available in rural areas.
"Adequate nourishment can be derived from food that is readily available at the villages. The problem is there is not enough information about these items. So start a drive so that malnutrition vanishes from the state in the next five years," she urged.
Nidhi Khare, secretary of personnel, administrative reforms and rajbhasa department, who was also present, said, "Karunaproject was started with the blessings of the Dalai Lama. It justifies its name. The project has been implemented well in Gumla and should start in other places of the state too."<>Padma Shri Ashok Bhagat, the mentor of Vikas Bharti, congratulated project participants for their enthusiasm and dedication that helped in bringing down malnutrition in the block.
The programme was attended by Mahadev Hansda of Save the Children and Dr A.K. Singh, national vice-president of IMA, among other dignitaries.
