India

RMF is proud to announce that the Capstone team from the NYU Robert Wagner School of Public Service has successfully completed their collaboration on the Malnutrition Initiative in Madhya Pradesh. The Capstone team was engaged to assist RMF identify opportunities for eradicating malnutrition in Madhya Pradesh, while providing additional tools and information to assess program effectiveness. The objective of this report is to serve as an evaluative tool for RMF in regards to the “Eradicate Malnutrition” Program, from the perspective of the New York University Capstone team.

In April 2009, the Real Medicine Foundation (RMF) launched the “Eradicate Malnutrition” program in Madhya Pradesh, India in response to the high rates of malnutrition in the region. With the malnutrition rate in children under the age of five at 60 percent, Madhya Pradesh represents the largest burden of malnutrition for the country. At the onset of Real Medicine’s initiative, the RMF program directors identified the resource constraints with evaluating the project work and with consolidating ideas for future program expansion. Based on the field assessment and research of best practices in the treatment of child malnutrition, the Capstone team has provided key recommendations to RMF to enhance the identification, treatment and prevention of malnutrition.

The Capstone team was comprised of four graduate students from NYU: Jenny Hsieh, Hyein Lee, Eyiwunmi Salako, and Jaimie Shaff; with each team member bringing unique experience to the project. The project started in September 2009, and continued until May 2010. The following 95 page report summarizes the Capstone team’s findings, and identifies next steps for RMF to consider.