ANNA #PATRA- A Feeding Vessel is home to a #quarter of the #undernourished #population in the #world. The Global #Hunger #Index 2016 ranks #India at 97 out of 118 #countries on the basis of three #leading #indicators — #prevalence of #wasting and #stunting in #children less than 5 #years, under 5 child #mortality rate, and the #proportion of undernourished in the population. Also WHO #report says that in #INDIA 44% of children below5 are underweight. Malnourished children have a higher risk of #death from common childhood illnesses such as #diarrhea, #pneumonia, and #malaria and their #education also get affected due to their illness. “ANNA PATRA” #Program is based on a #single #vision that “No #child in India shall be devoid of education because of hunger”.
To reach the aim, two types #project #strategy is #planned:- First strategy is to implement the program with single #focus to feed children below 14 years of age including #street #children involved in #begging, #garbage #collection etc and #students of #primary schools located at urban #slums. This project is to reach most #deprived section of children and to serve them #nutritious mid-day meal to avoid #Protein and energy malnutrition and deficiencies of #specific #micronutrients (including iron, zinc, and vitamins) to decrease the #susceptibility to infection
#Second strategy is to provide #nutritious food @nominal cost to #pregnant women, #senior citizens and under nourished adults. #Malnutrition increases the risk of #infection and infectious #disease, and #moderate malnutrition #weakens every #part of the immune system. For example, it is a major risk #factor in the onset of active #tuberculosis. Malnutrition affects #HIV transmission by increasing the risk of #transmission from #mother to child and also increasing #replication of the virus. In #communities or areas that lack access to safe #drinking water, these additional #health risks present a #critical problem. Lower #energy and impaired #function of the #brain also represent the downward #spiral of malnutrition as victims are less able to perform the tasks they need to in order to acquire food and earn an income,
A lack of adequate #breastfeeding leads to malnutrition in #infants and children, associated with the #deaths of an estimated one million children annually. Maternal malnutrition can also factor into the #poor health or #death of a baby. Over 800,000 #neonatal deaths have occurred because of d#eficient growth of the fetus in the mother’s womb.
Deriving too much of one’s #diet from a single source, such as eating almost #exclusively #corn or rice, can cause malnutrition. This may either be from a lack of education about #proper nutrition, or from only having access to a single #food source.
It is not just the total amount of calories that matters but specific nutritional deficiencies such as vitamin A deficiency, iron deficiency or zinc deficiency can also increase risk of #death.