This document proposes an innovative model to address India's malnutrition problem. It involves three key components: 1) educating adolescent mothers on nutrition so they can properly nourish themselves and their children, 2) providing nutrient supplements to mothers at primary health centers, and 3) distributing flavored peanut paste fortified with nutrients to children under 5, especially in severely affected areas. It also suggests improving the mid-day meal scheme through public-private partnerships for more efficient implementation. The model aims to holistically address malnutrition from the stage of expecting mothers through early childhood.

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Manthan Topic: Nourish to Flourish
Team Details
Ameya M. Talanki
Deepti Singh
Kapil Kanungo
NMR Sriharsha
Snigdha Singh
Indian Institute of Management Indore
Education of Young Mothers ,Peanut Paste & PPP
Model
An innovative model to solve India’s Malnutrition Problem

2. 33% of the World’s Malnourished children live in
India. Where does the problem lie?
• A UNICEF report about nutrition in India reads “Malnutrition is
more common in India than in Sub-Saharan Africa. One in
every three malnourished children in the world lives in India.”
• The states of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Meghalaya,
Chattisgarh and Gujarat have shown high levels of Malnutrition
in children.
• About 50% of the overall childhood deaths in India are
attributed to Malnutrition.
• The problems is not only confined to children but mothers too.
About 75% of mothers in India put on only 5 Kgs of weight
during pregnancy compared to the global average of 10 Kgs. Source: NFHS Survey Data
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3. Is the problem really so acute or are we over-
exaggerating the problem?
• Economist Arvind Panagariya in a recent article published in the Economic
and Political Weekly has pointed out various flaws in the determination of
these figures.
• The data on malnutrition talks about height and weight deficiencies. Indians
could probably be genetically less tall.
• Hence there may be a possibility that the problem has been over exaggerated
but we cannot completely ignore the fact that India does have a pitiable state
when it comes to dealing with Malnutrition.
• The government based ICDS program has done much good when it comes to
improving child nutrition in India.
• The Mid-Day meal scheme has also been under the hammer for bad
implementation and needs reforms.
Source: www.actionagainsthunger.org.uk:
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4. Our solution in brief
• We intend to make to-be adolescent mothers aware of the
effects of malnutrition and how they can address the issue.
• Provision of deficient nutrients at the Primary Health Centre.
Educating to-be
Mothers
• Providing flavored peanut paste to children up to the age of 5
years.
• Incorporating all required nutrients in this paste.
Peanut Paste
• Increasing the efficiency and quality of the Mid-Day meal
scheme.
• Increasing education and thus reducing malnutrition.
PPP model for the
Mid-Day meal
scheme
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5. Educating adolescent to-be Mothers
• According to a report published by Peter Svedberg education of
mothers plays a major role in the nutrition of their children.
• We propose the introduction of an education scheme for these
young mothers so that they are aware of the basic nutrition
necessities of their children.
• The mothers can be inducted into the program when they are
diagnosed to be pregnant at a Primary Health Centre.
• The Aanganwadi worker will be the one who will be educating
the mother on her own as well as her child’s nutritional needs.
• There can be separate evening classes at the Aanganwadis or
the same can be introduced as an extension of the Adult
Education Program.
Source:http://www.isid.ac.in/~pu/conference/dec_08_
conf/Papers/PeterSvedberg.pdf
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6. Provision of required nutrients at Primary
Health Centres
• Mothers can be asked to undergo tests at the health centres to check
for nutrient deficiencies.
• The same can be addressed by providing generic tablets of these
essential nutrients.
• Pharmaceutical companies can be asked to compulsorily contribute to
the program regionally and hence this will not be a fiscal burden to
the government.
• Pharmaceutical companies can in turn be subsidized on other fronts
such as land, electricity and water usage.
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7. Distribution of Peanut Paste Sachets in Extreme hit
areas
• India is the world’s second largest producer of peanuts after China.
• Most of this produce is used for making oil, the remaining part is used for
domestic consumption and for export too.
• The high-energy peanut-based paste, includes skimmed milk powder,
sugar, vegetable fat and vitamins and minerals. It does not need clean
water to swallow; it does not need to be cooked or refrigerated, and it stays
fresh after opening. It can also be given to any child in the most advanced
stage of malnutrition, anywhere, by anyone. UNICEF presently uses this
paste in its relief work.
• Nutritional value of about one ration of this paste
Energy – 534 Kcal
Protein – 12.7 g
Fate – 34.5 g
• The paste costs absolutely little to make and can be made in various flavors
depending on regional tastes.
Source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
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8. PPP model for the Mid-Day Meal scheme
• Public Private Partnerships help improve efficiency of
functioning. We propose a similar alliance for the
implementation of the Mid-Day meal scheme.
• The Akshaya Patra initiative is an example in this regard. The
scheme has been successfully implemented in various states like
Karnataka and they have successfully collaborated with the Mid-
Day meal scheme.
• They provide clean and hygienic food to children and have
shown us the power of such partnerships.
• We propose bringing in other corporates like P&G, Unilever,
Godrej, ITC etc into this segment to implement the schemes.
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9. So what’s in it for these corporates?
• They can very well come under their Corporate Social
Responsibility Schemes.
• The opportunity of advertisement and marketing is large.
Vans used for delivery, vessels, plates and the food itself can
act as great advertising media.
• The image on the right showcases a cleverly used strategy by
Lifebuoy during the Kumbh mela.
• The scheme has a very large reach touching every nook and
corner of the country and we believe that the advertising
impact is large.
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10. Challenges
• A large number of mothers do not visit the hospital during pregnancy.
- Aanganwadi workers can keep track of such cases by visiting families
frequently and guide mothers whenever needed.
• How will the Peanut Paste reach the needy?
- The supply chain has to be integrated with the Primary Healthcare Centers or the Mid –
Day meal scheme or the PDS system.
• Why will the private sector want to be part of the system?
- The incentives from advertising are large. At the same time the government can look to
subsidizing these companies as the externalities created from such a scheme are large and
the government can afford to spend some amount of money. According to the food and
agriculture organization the government loses about 3% of the GDP annually due to
nutrition related issues and can afford to spend the same.
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11. References
• http://www.wfp.org/nutrition/special-nutritional-products
• http://saiindia.gov.in/english/home/Our_Products/Audit_Report/Government_Wise/union_audit
/recent_reports/union_performance/2012_2013/Civil/Report_22/Report_22.html
• http://www.unicef.org/india/children_2356.htm
• http://mospi.nic.in/mospi_new/upload/Children_in_India_2012.pdf
• http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/05/13/helping-india-combat-persistently-
high-rates-of-malnutrition
• http://www.cini.org.uk/childmalutrition.pdf
• http://www.isid.ac.in/~pu/conference/dec_08_conf/Papers/PeterSvedberg.pdf
• http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/lpgcGwAkGZzoSiioqZdCoI/Is-malnutrition-in-India-a-
myth.html
• http://www.epw.in/special-articles/does-india-really-suffer-worse-child-malnutrition-sub-
saharan-africa.html
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