Waging a war against hunger

The hideous statistics on undernutrition in India hide an uplifting story — nutrition has found the place it deserves in the national consciousness.

Nutrition has raced up the social development agenda, and the launching of the National Nutrition Mission (or Poshan Abhiyan) in March 2018 was the spur. Political will supplies the impetus essential to translate plans into productive projects, and partnerships between the government and civil society are helping turn the tide in the war against malnutrition.

The Tata Trusts have played a full part in this war, contributing with programmes and personnel, resources and ideas. Combatting malnutrition in a complex and diverse country like ours is an arduous task. The Trusts have responded through an integrated three-pronged approach.

First, to ensure adequate nutrition among communities through food fortification, one of the simplest and most sustainable public health strategies to address the issue of micronutrient deficiencies.

Second, by supporting and helping scale up various government programmes to address the issue of malnutrition and reach the goal of eliminating malnutrition.

Third, at a strategic and national level, the Trusts work with policymakers in providing the necessary backing, infrastructure, information, data and platforms to assess existing policies and create effective new ones.