India: Childhood Malnutrition Eradication Program
4,601 Villagers Benefited from Education and Counseling Sessions: Q2 2017
August 01, 2017
Rakesh Dhole and Deanna Boulard
Summary of Activities
- Total rural tribal population in the 50 villages: 76,635
- Total households in the 50 villages: 16,446
- 36 meetings were organized with other stakeholders in the communities.
- Follow-up visits and continuous education were provided to families whose child or children were suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) or moderate acute malnutrition (MAM).
- Our team continued implementation of RMF’s social enterprise model, based on findings from RMF India’s social enterprise survey of 50 local villages and knowledge gained from our 2014–2015 Adolescent Girls Outreach Program that covered schools throughout 3 districts of Madhya Pradesh.
- RMF India’s leadership team held regular meetings with CNEs and district coordinators to provide key support and supervision of field staff.
- RMF India’s leadership team made regular visits to field sites to provide key support and supervision of field staff.
- RMF India’s office was duly maintained, and staff members were provided with salaries and wages on time.

Results &
ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Family Counseling Sessions
3,466 Individuals Participated
- 2,364 family counseling sessions were conducted by RMF India’s Community Nutrition Educators (CNEs).
- 3,466 individuals (mainly women and adolescent girls) participated in the abovementioned family counseling sessions.

Community Education Sessions
1,135 Individuals Participated
- 177 community education sessions were led by RMF India’s CNEs.
- 1,135 individuals participated in the abovementioned community education sessions.

Severe Malnourishment Cases
Identification, Treatment, and Counseling Provided
- 26 severe cases of malnutrition were treated and improved.
- 41 new severe cases of malnutrition were identified for management, either within the community using service delivery platforms or in households, and/or referred to Nutrition Rehabilitation Centers (NRCs).
- 20 severely malnourished children were admitted to NRCs after counseling.

Moderate Malnourishment Cases
Identification, Treatment, and Counseling Provided
- 55 moderate cases of malnutrition were treated and improved to normal nutritional status.
- 113 new moderate cases of malnutrition were identified for management, either within the community using service delivery platforms or in households, and improved SAM to MAM cases.
- 650 cases of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) were followed by RMF India’s CNEs.

RMF Provides Jobs
Improving Lives and Education
Families of the CNEs that RMF employs as part of this initiative, many of whom are from the intervention villages themselves and use their salary from RMF to support their children’s education and to improve the lives of their families.

Counseling about Hygenic Menstruation Practices
Reaching 20,000 Women and Girls
- RMF India’s CNEs, trained as Swasthya Sahelis (Catalysts of Change) are working with approximately 20,000 eligible women and girls in 50 villages of Barwani block, speaking with them about menstrual cycles, working to dispel myths, and counseling the women and girls to adopt hygienic practices and use sanitary napkins.

Background
& Objectives
Background
This project empowers communities through health literacy and connects rural communities with the government health and nutrition services available. This project aims to prove that a holistic, decentralized, community-based approach to malnutrition eradication will have better health outcomes, be more inclusive for children under 5, and will be more cost-effective in the long-run than centralized approaches, especially for rural, marginalized tribal communities. Our team of up to 75 Community Nutrition Educators (CNEs) and 6 District Coordinators has covered enormous ground across 5 districts and 600 villages in Madhya Pradesh.
Objectives
- To reduce the prevalence of underweight children under 5 years old and to reduce child mortality from malnutrition by strengthening communities and village level government facilities’ capacity to identify, treat, and prevent malnutrition.
- Continue to identify new SAM and MAM cases, refer complicated cases to the NRC and provide home-based counseling for all malnourished children
- Refer 1,000 SAM children to government centers for treatment with a 50% success rate Quarterly
- Conduct 2,500 Community Nutrition Meetings Quarterly
- Conduct 9,000 Individual Family Counseling Sessions Quarterly
- Send CNEs to Nutrition Rehabilitation Centers (NRCs) to help counsel families present
- Continue to develop linkages with government health and nutrition services
- Strengthen institutional capacity with support from World Bank’s India Development Marketplace Award.

Numbers
Served
During this reporting period, in addition to the 4,601 villagers who benefited from education and counseling sessions conducted by RMF India’s Community Nutrition Educators (CNEs), 235 children suffering from acute malnutrition were identified and/or received treatment:
- 154 new cases of moderate and severe malnourished children were identified.
- 81 moderate and severe malnourished children were treated and their condition improved.


More Reports on: Childhood Malnutrition Eradication Program Archive
Country Page: India
Initiative Page: Childhood Malnutrition Eradication Program