BSI witnesses 7.4% reduction in malnourished children

The program aims to engage with 1,77,000 mothers and children with the goal to eradicate malnourishment in Amravati & Nandurbar in the next four years

India based community dettol BSI – Nutrition India Programme, has witnessed a reduction of 7.4% severely acute malnourished children across the districts of Amravati & Nandurbar in Maharashtra, in the first successful years.

Within the first 10 months, the program was able to save the lives of 6,500 children between the years of 1-5 with the help of 41 community nutrition workers. An independent evaluation by sustainable Square also found that every Rs 1 invested in the BSI Nutrition India Programme delivers a social value of Rs 36.90.

The five-year program was developed to support in the first 1000 days of a child’s life, utilizing digital and artificial intelligence-based innovative modules, to strengthen the health, hygiene and nutrition status of pregnant women and children in Maharashtra’s Amravati and Nandurbar.

In the past one year, Nutrition India Programme has worked with local communities and developed a workforce of traveling nutrition champions who are known as Community Nutrition Workers (CNWs). These workers are given rigorous training by public health experts, pediatricians, gynecologists, and community development specialists, and are educated about the golden rules of good nutrition. 

The ongoing program is focusing on maternal and child health. Over the next four years, the program aims to reach 1,77,000 mothers of undernourished children across 1,000 villages with a target of 40% reduction in the number of children under five who are stunted, and to reduce and maintain childhood wasting to less than 5%.