National Nutrition Mission (NNM: Scheme Details, Eligibility, Objectives & Benefits

National Nutrition Campaign

What is National Nutrition Mission (NNM)?

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the National Nutrition Mission (NNM) in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan on the occasion of International Women's Day on 08 March 2018. In December last year, the central government had approved a budget of Rs 9046.17 crore for NNM by 2020 and the aim of the government is to take the benefits of this mission to ten crore people. The Government of India has already implemented several schemes to reduce malnutrition among children below 6 years of age and women in the country. Despite these schemes, the level of malnutrition and related problems in the country is much higher than the international standards. There is no coordination between the plans to achieve the set goals. The National Nutrition Plan will create the desired synergy by establishing a strong system, so that this problem can be reduced to some extent.

Important facts related to National Nutrition Mission (NNM)?

Some important facts related to the National Nutrition Campaign are shown in the list below-

Plan points	Important facts
Scheme name	National Nutrition Mission (NNM)
Plan area	lack of malnutrition
Scheme launch date	08 March 2018
Who started the scheme	Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Manager ministry	NITI Aayog

Latest information about POSHAN Abhiyaan: Government of India on 07 May 2018 signed a $200 million loan agreement with the World Bank to accelerate the National Nutrition Mission in 315 districts across all states and union territories of the country. . The ongoing activities under the World Bank assisted 'Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Mechanism Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Project' under POSHAN Abhiyaan will be gradually scaled up over a period of three years in all districts.

What is the objective of National Nutrition Mission?

The goal of the National Nutrition Mission is to reduce the rate of malnutrition and low birth weight by 2 per cent per year. The main objective of the NNM is to reduce the incidence of anemia in children, women and young women by 3 percent per year by 2020. Also, stunting is to be brought down from 38.4 per cent at present to 25 per cent by 2022.

Know what is included in the National Nutrition Mission?

Mapping the contribution of various schemes to address malnutrition.
Introducing a very strong convergence mechanism.
Information Technology based Real Time Monitoring System.
To encourage the States/UTs to achieve the targets.
To encourage Anganwadi workers to use IT based tools.
To eliminate the use of registers by Anganwadi workers.
To start the height measurement of children at Anganwadi centres.
Social Audit Examination.

Features (Benefits) of National Nutrition Mission:

The Rashtriya Poshan Abhiyan program will take measures to reduce the level of stunting, undernutrition, anemia and low birth weight.
This would encourage better monitoring, coordination in issuance of cautions for timely action and encourage the Ministry and States/UTs to act, guide and monitor the achievement of the set targets.
More than 10 crore people will benefit from this program. All the states and districts will be covered in a phased manner ie 315 districts in 2017-18, 235 districts in the year 2018-19 and remaining districts in 2019-20.

Strategy or Implementation of National Nutrition Mission (Model):

Some time back, the National Nutrition Strategy was launched by NITI Aayog to give renewed attention to malnutrition in the country.
This strategy is for the future of India because the goal of economic development cannot be achieved without getting rid of malnutrition.
An effective framework has been prepared under this strategy to achieve the goal of nutrition through a comprehensive consultative process.
Based on the vision of a malnutrition-free India, this strategy calls for special attention to children, adolescent girls and women, along with taking measures to combat malnutrition.
In this, targets have also been set to reduce various types of malnutrition and target has been set to reduce the number of women suffering from anemia rapidly.
The strategy envisages a structure that incorporates the four most important elements of nutrition (health services, food, drinking water and sanitation, and income and livelihood). All these factors help in accelerating the declining rate of undernutrition in India.
NITI Aayog has prepared this strategy in consultation with experts and institutions of the country and abroad and has also suggested a roadmap to achieve it.

Funding support in the National Nutrition Plan:

The total contribution of the Center in the National Nutrition Scheme will be Rs 2849.54 crore and the State Governments will contribute about Rs 1700 crore. International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or other banks will contribute 50 per cent of the total budget allocation of the NNM. The balance amount will be shared between the states and the Center in the ratio of 60 to 40.

What is malnutrition?

Meaning of Malnutrition: If a person does not get the necessary balanced diet for a long time, then he becomes a victim of malnutrition. Malnutrition is a serious condition. To avoid malnutrition, the right amount of nutrients should be taken in the diet of any person. You should consume enough nutrients in the diet, including proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. Food provides energy and nutrients to keep you healthy.

Symptoms of malnutrition or how to recognize malnutrition:

If the human body does not get the necessary elements of a balanced diet for a long time, then the following symptoms start appearing, from which malnutrition is detected:-

Stunted growth of the body.
Loosening or contracting of muscles.
Yellow skin with wrinkles.
Fatigue soon after working.
Lack of enthusiasm in the mind, irritability and nervousness.
Hair dry and shiny.
Face dull, eyes sunken and black circles forming around them.
Weight loss and weakness.
Disturbance of sleep and digestion.
Thinning of arms and legs and enlarged abdomen or swelling of the body (often in children).

Main causes of malnutrition in India:

The problem of malnutrition is higher in developing countries than in developed countries. The level of malnutrition (especially under-nutrition) in India is very high. Most of its victims are teenage girls, women and children. Following are the main causes of malnutrition in India:-

Poverty: The problem of malnutrition is extreme in a developing country like India, because due to lack of money, poor people are not able to buy enough, nutritious things like milk, fruits, ghee etc. and become victims of malnutrition.

Negligence during pregnancy: Early marriage is also the main cause of malnutrition among women in India. One out of every three pregnant women in India suffers from anemia due to malnutrition. In our society, women do not pay attention to their own food and drink. Whereas pregnant women need more nutritious food.

Ignorance and Illiteracy: Most of the people, especially the people living in villages, countryside, do not have sufficient knowledge about balanced diet, due to which they do not include essential items in the food of themselves and their children, due to this they themselves Not only do they suffer from disease, but they also make their family a victim of malnutrition.

Poor sanitation: Poor sanitation practices and unsafe drinking water are an important cause of malnutrition in India. Due to the lack of toilets for the population - at least 620 million people (half of India's population) go out of the house to defecate. Due to which many diseases occur, diarrhea is also one of those diseases.