A workshop on Food and Nutrition with ICDS centers was organised by CDPO Mawkynrew in collaboration with NESFAS, NRLM, NHM and World Vision on September 17, 2019, at Jongksha East Khasi Hills, in the Community Hall.
The session started with the sharing of data on Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) Children below 6 years in Mawkynrew Area. This study was based on a screening from May to July 2019. Ms. O C Nongbri, CDPO, Mawkynrew shared that in these 9 villages, around 36 children suffer from SAM. The workshop was attended by mothers, ASHAs, Anganwadis and others.
After a thorough discussion on SAM and its long-term effects was shared, an ice-breaking session on listing of food crops and other foods from different places of the communities was done. Through this exercise, 64 food crops were identified within 15 minutes that were available in 10 villages. Based on this session, Dr. Melari Nongrum, Executive Director, NESFAS, talked about Food diversity as a basis for an adequate diet and the availability of food at the local context. She also shared the importance of traditional food as compared to the food available in the market.
The session then focused on food diversity and the 10 Food Groups. It was learned that among the participants, only few had a Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) of 5, based on the DDS exercise that was done at the session. This explains that despite having so much diversity of food from different sources in the local area, people still consume a less food groups in their diet.
The team went on to share about the 1000 Days campaign. Dr. Nongrum shared, “It is very important that a child gets maximum care and nutrition during the first 1000 days, that is, from its conception up to two years of age.” If this is not taken up seriously, the child is likely to suffer from malnutrition.
The last session was taken by Ms. Badarishisha Nongkynrih, Associate, NESFAS on a specific topic “Stunting” which is a major sign of malnutrition and it was also common in that area. She also stressed on the effects of stunting and the diets required to prevent it, followed by BMI and its calculation.
Through this workshop, the partners have decided to conduct cooking demonstrations for all the communities that were part of the workshop. This cooking demonstration will concentrate on food diversification, and most importantly right cooking methods to retain nutrients that will contribute in tackling SAM.
