IFPRI launches set of nutrition profiles

Discussions were held on how publicly available data can be curated and used effectively to identify and prioritise strategic actions for nutrition

In support of India’s long-awaited National Nutrition Mission, which emphasises the importance of state- and district-focused actions, a group of researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), launched a set of nutrition profiles for all states in India and for 640 districts of the country at a half-day event held at the India International Center, New Delhi. The event, and discussion related to the nutrition profiles, were centered around how publicly available data can be curated and used effectively to identify and prioritise strategic actions for nutrition. The availability of district-level data, unprecedented in scale and depth in India, presents an unparalleled opportunity for localised action.

Given India’s size, and contribution to the global burden of malnutrition, investments in improving nutrition in India can go a long way towards improving health worldwide. However, India’s diversity, scale and size mean that the shape of the nutrition problem varies by state and district, as do the drivers of those outcomes.

Presenting insights from the analysis work, Dr Rasmi Avula from IFPRI noted that “the co-existence of stunting, wasting and anaemia – all widespread across districts in India – with the rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases – means no district in India is immune to the nutrition challenge. At the same time, our analysis also highlights the successes that have emerged in the last decade, especially on ensuring the reach of health and nutrition programmes.”

The IFPRI analysis of NFHS-4 summary data released earlier this year demonstrates how important it is to understand how these forms of malnutrition play out across India, as well as the successes across the nation.

The state-level analyses, summarised in policy notes for each state, highlight that although all the states operate under a similar national policy and programmatic environment, the nutrition story in each state varies – nutrition problems, major determinants of nutritional outcomes, and the coverage and reach of health and nutrition interventions, all differ by state and even by district. There are several successes across the country, both in reducing nutrition outcomes like stunting and in improving coverage and reach of nutrition and health programmes. This re-affirms the need for a locally focussed, data-driven approach to understanding, prioritising and monitoring actions for nutrition.

The usefulness of having this disaggregated data analysis and packaging, at the state and the district-level, was emphasised by Dr Alok Kumar, Advisor (Health & Nutrition), NITI Aayog, who noted that “as states and districts launch actions for nutrition, the data to help them visualise the challenges and gaps in their programmes is crucial to identify the key priorities for interventions and monitoring.”

In addition, Dr Kumar noted that there is a real need for going a step further and supporting the districts by providing analytics even at a sub-district level using programme data such as that available from the real-time monitoring systems within the Ministry of Health and the Integrated Child Development Services.

Senior nutrition researchers, economists, public health specialists, development partners and government representatives attended the event. Expressing hope for the future, nutrition stalwart, Dr Prema Ramachandran said, “For two decades, planners in India have been emphasising the need for decentralised district-based planning. Now, with the availability of district-specific data and time trends, it is possible for the country to draw up and implement district action plans which will accelerate the pace of progress and bridge the gap among districts. This in turn will fast-track improvement in the states and the country as a whole.”

Government of India has recently announced the launch of the National Nutrition Mission aimed at 10 crore beneficiaries, mainly children up to the age of six years, pregnant and lactating women, and adolescent girls. The mission aims to bring down the stunting percentage from 38.4 per cent to 25 percent by 2022, and reduce stunting, under-nutrition, and low birth weight by 2 per cent per annum, and anaemia by 3 per cent annually.

Speaking about IFPRI’s efforts to use data to help a wide range of stakeholders engage more effectively around nutrition in India, Dr Purnima Menon, senior researcher, IFPRI, and lead for the team, which developed the state policy notes and district nutrition profiles said, “This mission is a beacon of hope for millions of children across India. Putting in place the conditions that support good nutrition – health and nutrition programs and favourable social and economic contexts – is crucial to ensure that the children born into the era of the Sustainable Development Goals get a good start in life. Our goal is to help nutrition stakeholders in India use the available data to prioritise the best possible actions to support nutrition outcomes– district-by-district, state-by-state.”