MUMBAI: A nourishment initiative in the state’s tribal belts, the Community Action for Nutrition (CAN), has resulted in a heartening reduction of malnutrition in children. Cases of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) dropped by nearly 52%, while cases of Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) fell by 38% within just nine months according to findings from CAN.
Helmed by the Maharashtra tribal development department in collaboration with the non-profit SATHI, CAN was implemented between 2018 and 2020 across Gadchiroli, Nandurbar, Nashik, Raigad, Pune, Thane and Palghar. The initiative reached over 21,600 children under six years of age and 3,500 pregnant and lactating women across 420 tribal habitations. More than half the children with SAM improved subsequently to MAM or normal status while only 1% of normal children deteriorated to SAM status.
“We focussed on interventions such as introducing locally sourced food for breakfast and lunch and balancing the meals with nutritious inputs,” said Vinod Shende, project officer, SATHI. “ASHA workers maintained the interventions and did regular follow-ups such as checking the weight of the children at their homes.”
CAN sought to make the Amrut Aahar Yojana (AAY) and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) more effective by deepening community participation. ASHA and anganwadi workers were trained to counsel families on using locally available food and to make weekly visits to every malnourished child. Simultaneously, poshan hakk gats (food rights groups) were formed, bringing parents, local committees and health workers together to monitor nutrition services and identify service gaps.
Between June 2019 and February 2020, the proportion of children with SAM dropped from 5.2% to 2.5%, while those with MAM declined from 14.3% to 8.8%. Likewise, the percentage of severely underweight (SUW) children fell from 14.1% to 8.9%, an improvement of 36.9%. Representatives of SATHI said that the figures contrasted sharply with the state’s broader trend, where malnutrition among tribal children actually rose slightly during the same years.
Abhay Shukla, national co-convenor of the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, pointed out that malnutrition was severe in the tribal districts mainly because parents, busy with farming activities, were unable to follow up on their children’s nutritional needs and unable to monitor Anganwadi services while anganwadi workers had neither the training nor the understanding and community accountability for the interventions needed. “The government must continue this in the tribal districts and even in Mumbai where malnutrition is conspicuous,” he said.
CAN also revamped the functioning of anganwadis, and staff attendance issues were resolved in 80% of centres. Anthropometric measurements began to be conducted transparently in the presence of parents in over 94% of cases. Access to supplementary food improved dramatically—the share of children receiving full AAY meals doubled from 35.7% to 65%, while pregnant and lactating women accessing meals regularly rose from 57% to nearly 87%.
At approximately ₹103 per child per month, the CAN model offers a cost-effective and scalable blueprint for improving child nutrition in tribal belts.
Calls and messages to officials of the tribal development department remained unanswered.