Fight Against Acute Malnutrition Among Children; Special Centres Set Up in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: A total of 67 Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres (NRC) have been set up across Odisha to treat children suffering from acute malnutrition, the State Assembly was informed on Monday.

These centres, established in different Community Health Centres (CHC) and other health facilities located in sub-divisions and districts, provide special treatment to malnourished children aged up to five years, Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kishore Das said in a written answer in the House.

The children, who also include newborn babies, are fed nutritious food and provided with special medical assistance to arrest acute malnutrition among them, he said, adding that these children are sent back to their homes after improvement in their condition and at least 15 per cent gain in their weight.

Thereafter, the condition of these children is reviewed in follow-up check-ups at the NRCs and they are medically examined regularly in their villages till their health condition becomes normal, the Minister said.

After six months of their birth, children are administered iron syrup up to the age of five years twice a week by ASHA workers under the Intensified National Iron Plus Initiative Programme(I-NIPI), he added.