How mid-day meal in India has improved the nutritional level?
by Akshaya Patra NGO in India - Akshaya PatraIndia is among the fastest growing economies in the world.
It is considered as a young nation with a high demographic dividend.
Reportedly, the largest section of India’s population is under the age of 25
and 39% of its population being children (0-18 years). And, by 2020, India will
embrace the reputation of having the world’s largest working population! But,
are we really ready for this reputation in a sustainable way?
According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the
United Nations’ estimate in ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the
World, 2017” report, India is combatting the below criticalities surrounding
children health:
Disheartening indeed, but the Government of India along with
several NGOs are working towards improving the scenario by introducing and
implementing various child-centric schemes and programmes. One such initiative
is the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. This Scheme makes the provision to provide school midday
meal to children studying in Government and Government-aided schools across
the country. By ensuring that children receive regular meals on school days the
Scheme aims to address classroom hunger, school enrolment, attendance,
malnutrition, and socialisation among children belonging to different castes.
However, over the years, it has been observed that the mid-day meal has not
only been effective in addressing its core objectives but has also contributed
significantly to reduce the drop-out rate and child labour incidences. It has
remarkably contributed to the health and growth of children too.
To multiply the impact of school midday meal, the government
has also roped in the services of NGOs. One of the main pre-requisites to of a
mid-day meal NGO role in
India is to provide nutritious meals encompassing all vital nutrients
required for proper growth of children. Since, for most children, the school
meal is the only meal of the day, the NGOs need to ensure that children are
served with wholesome meals regularly. Thus, mid-day meals comprise of items
prepared from a variety of vegetables and pulses including rice and wheat-based
items. Some NGOs also provide fruits and sweet dish as special items on certain
days of the week.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation is one such charitable foundation in
India which has been working in partnership with the Central Government and
State Governments for the past 17 years to provide nutritious meals to school
children. Presently, this NGO is providing mid-day meals to more than 1.7
million children across 14,173 government schools in 36 locations across 12
states of India. The Foundation is aware that nutrition plays a vital role in
the cognitive and physical development of children. Proper nutrition supports
age-appropriate growth and development, improves immunity level, enhances the
level of activeness and concentration, and facilitates socialisation among
children. And, commendably, impact studies suggest that the nourishment received from school mid-day meals has resulted in:
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Created on Jul 25th 2018 06:04. Viewed 653 times.