A paradigm shift towards ‘Healthy Ecosystem’ promoting nutritious, sustainable food consumption that is aligned with national dietary and health priorities along with strategic changes in policy, governance and practices and identification of knowledge gaps shall advance realization of our health interlinked outcomes. The key entry points for health to influence nutrition and suggests policies for nutrition-sensitive development, within the current policy framework shall bring manifold benefits and ensuring adequate nutritional security and health safety ordains inter-sectoral convergence. With the National Nutrition Week, observed every year from September 1 to 7 in India, various public health experts said the focus should be on the issue of under-nutrition, over nutrition or micro-nutrient deficiencies in children and women. While health and well being is central to Ministry of Health through initiatives like Ayushman Bharat, protective and preventive health programs while Ministry of women is entrusted with adequate and nutrition food to school children under POSHAN Abhiyan but the mandate in its present form does not emphasize on this aspect. Converging their efforts shall support national economies, contributes to food and nutrition security in long term.
Nutrition is both a maker and a marker of sustainable development. Improved nutrition is the platform for progress in health, education, employment, empowerment and the reduction of poverty and inequality. In reality, nutrition and nourishment are dual edge swords with nourishment proportional to healthy intake of good diet coupled with enhanced awareness on our food choices. Given that at least 12 of the 17 Goals contain indicators that are highly relevant to nutrition, it can serve as a magic bullet to realise the social goals from SDG 1 to SDG 6 and form the core of human development. As Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji’s in his Mann ki Baat August 2020 called for ‘POSHAN Maah’ (Nutrition) for the month of September, this aspect is significant towards enhancing nourishment and cognitive mindset of children but also pave a way to tackle nutritional deficiency and related diseases.
The Global Nutrition Report 2020 states that India is among 88 countries that are likely to miss global nutrition targets by 2025. The report also considers one in two women of reproductive age as anemic and heightened inequities in food and health systems have increased inequalities in nutrition outcomes perpetuating a vicious cycle. Problem gets aggravated for children and women and youth due to non-availability of consistent nutritional food, or who come from marginalized families and disadvantage background. The Access Challenge and Harvard Global Health Institute recently launched a report highlighting the collaborations necessary to achieve UHC by drawing the connection between food, water, and air, and human health. Despite its growing prosperity, India has the highest burden of malnutrition in the world which was highlighted by a UN report in 2017 that India has 190.7 million undernourished people and 38.4 percent of children under five in India are stunted, prevents them to reach their potential due to water quality and depletion of water resource, lack of nutrition in food and lack of education to gather cognitive analysis. Disadvantaged sections have unequal access and vulnerable to food and such disparity strike at the root of country’s demographic dividend.
Ban Ki-moon, former United Nations 8th Secretary General during a message for the SUN Movement Strategy and Roadmap (2016-2020) highlighted that ‘Over the next fifteen years, the SDGs commit all governments to comprehensive, integrated and universal transformations, including ending hunger and malnutrition by 2030. Without adequate and sustained investments in good nutrition, the SDGs will not be realised. The ambition to ‘End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture’ is captured in SDG2.
Reinforce the mandate of various Ministries under a common Ministry is a sine qua non for effective realization of health-nutrition inter-linkages and calls for coordination, cooperation and convergence at various levels ranging from Centre to local through holistic integration of mandate, schemes, programmes to realise an interwoven SDGs that is sustainable, inclusive and equity. Countries must also mobilise efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind’.
Nations can shift toward promoting healthy, sustainably produced foods that are aligned with national dietary and health priorities; the most strategic changes in policy, governance and practices that can help this shift occur; and identify knowledge gaps in realizing our health outcomes. Sustainable development is a new paradigm for economic growth, social equality and environmental sustainability. The last decade of actions must now take account of such situations that affect our citizen’s well being. COVID-19 has presented a silver lining amidst unparalleled consequences. Shouldn’t we re-think to address the synergy between health-nutrition under a common platform to Build Back Better?
By Dr. Arvind Kumar, President, India Water Foundation
