It is good to know that the national nutrition week is being celebrated all over the country. It is all the more important for Odisha as the state is grappling with the problem of malnutrition for a long time. It is time to intensify awareness generation on the importance of nutrition on health and its role in building a healthy nation. Of late, incidences like Nagada have brought to limelight the deficiencies in the delivery mechanism of nutrition to the people of the state, especially to the children. This has necessitated identification of the loopholes in the system and addressing those on an emergency basis. There is an urgent need for sensitization and capacity building of state and district level officers on the importance of nutrition for better health. People should be apprised of low-cost nutritious diets for different age groups by grassroots level functionaries like school teachers and Anganwadi workers. The message should go that nutrition is an issue of survival, health, and development of current and succeeding generations. Malnutrition is not to be viewed merely as an offshoot of poverty having adverse effects on health and development of individuals but as a national problem that results in loss of productivity and economic backwardness.
Let’s hope government and all other stakeholders engaged in child and healthcare sector will be able to develop a new perspective to tackle malnutrition and the menace is dealt more effectively.