Malnutrition Awareness Drives

Malnutrition is more than the food deprivation typically perceived as “hunger.” Irrespective of the amount of food that is available, malnutrition occurs when the variety or quality of food is insufficient to support proper development and health. Malnutrition cannot be solved by food aid and, more often than not, when a person has grown up in a state of malnourishment, the effects are irreversible. An estimated 15 percent of all births in developing countries result in incidences of these low-birth weight babies – making malnutrition the key factor contributing to more than one-third of global child deaths (2.6 million) per year. Considering many cases of infant malnourishment can be solved by simply ensuring exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a child’s life, this number is shockingly unacceptable. Malnutrition is common in hospitalized patients as well as the village population, especially in a region like Vidarbha where the land is unyielding and produce low. It is associated with unfavorable outcomes including higher infection rates in people, poor wound healing, longer lengths of stay in medical care facilities and higher frequency of readmission to hospitals.

In our awareness programs, we go through the following issues:

• An overview of malnutrition including its clinical consequences, cost implications, details on the prevalence across healthcare settings and information on key patient groups at risk. 
• Information on the identification and management of malnutrition according to risk category.
• Guidance on optimizing oral intake including dietary advice and the appropriate use of oral nutritional supplements. 
• A practical path way on the appropriate use of oral nutritional supplements in the management of malnutrition.

These steps have ensured awareness among the villagers in this backward area.