Interventions

Multi-sectoral Nutrition Project

Malnutrition amongst women is one of the main causes of low birth weight of children and the associated mortality and morbidity. The Multi-sectoral Nutrition Project aims to improve access, quality and coverage of critical nutrition interventions in the most neglected geographies and population sub groups in Karnataka.

Goal: To reduce malnutrition among children below 36 months, adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women through sustainable inter-sectoral and intergenerational approaches in Chincholi and Devadurga blocks.

Context:

In India 2.1 million children under the age of five years dies every year due to various causes; 50 per cent of these deaths are due to under-nutrition.  Government of India has identified eight districts in northern Karnataka as high priority districts in its ‘RMNCH+A Call to Action Strategy’ to provide additional focus through innovative strategies and accelerate achievement of health and nutrition related targets. The Government of Karnataka also recognizes the urgent need to bridge the existing inequities and has responded through different sectors such as Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare, Agriculture, etc. Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Promotion Society under the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RDPR)  proactively responded to address this need through strategies involving grassroots communities in the most backward blocks of the state, Devadurga of Raichur district (ranked 175th )*and Chincholi of Gulbarga district (ranked 173rd)*.  (*As per Comprehensive Composite Development Index (CCDI)

Strategically implemented at three levels, the programme aims to improve:

1. Availability and accessibility of Fortified Blended Foods (FBF) using local community structures
2. Consumption of nutritious food by the target groups within family budgets through appropriate behavioral change communication (BCC)
3. Linkages with existing nutrition enhancing services implemented by other social sector programmes.

To improve the nutrition outcomes, the intervention:

• Encourages village level community structures to produce and distribute Fortified Blended Food (FBF) to the identified beneficiaries
• Improves service delivery and outreach through the use of behaviour change communication tools
• Builds an enabling environment and creates platforms for co-ordination and convergence of community structures and state departments towards achieving the common goal

KHPT is implementing the project from 2015 to 2018 in partnership with Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (KSRLPS) under the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR), Government of Karnataka and the Karnataka Comprehensive Nutrition Mission (KCNM). The project is funded by the World Bank and GAIN.

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