Vitamin Angels partners with Nagaland Government to help fight childhood malnutrition

Earlier in the year, the NHM and Vitamin Angels had signed an MoU wherein Vitamin Angels would provide the Nagaland Government with technical assistance to strengthen and/or expand public health nutrition interventions targeted towards children under 5 and pregnant and lactating women across the state

The Nagaland State Government announced its partnership with Vitamin Angels, an international not-for-profit organisation, to help address issues of child malnutrition and mortality for children under 5 across the state of Nagaland. The announcement was made by Dr I Talitemsula Jamir, Mission Director, National Health Mission (NHM), Department of Health and Family Welfare, Nagaland.

Earlier in the year, the NHM and Vitamin Angels had signed an MoU wherein Vitamin Angels would provide the Nagaland Government with technical assistance to strengthen and/or expand public health nutrition interventions targeted towards children under 5 and pregnant and lactating women across the state. This includes increasing availability and strengthening the administration of vitamin A, multiple micronutrient supplements and deworming interventions; strengthening supply chain mechanism of vitamin A and deworming tablets; supporting capacity building of frontline workers in health and nutrition interventions; supporting monitoring of vitamin A and deworming interventions across the state; strengthening the Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition Programme (MIYCN) and deliver MMS to pregnant women across a few districts.

Nagaland has shown significant improvement in the nutritional status of young children over the last few decades. The NFHS 5 (2019-20) shows vitamin A coverage for children under 5 at 44.4%, a marked increase since NFHS 4 (2015-16), where the coverage stood at a mere 27.2% across districts. Kohima has shown the highest coverage of vitamin A in the state, with 76.8% coverage, higher than the optimal coverage level of 70% recommended by WHO. This is also a significant increase from its last recorded coverage in Kohima of 39% as per NFHS 4.

Sunish Jauhari, President, Vitamin Angels India, said, “Vitamin Angels strives to reach the most underserved and nutritionally vulnerable communities across the globe and in India. We are very grateful to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Nagaland for allowing us an opportunity to work with them in reaching the millions of children in the far-flung districts of the state. The MoU marks a milestone in our work with the government and we look forward to a strong collaboration in the future for positive impact on ground.”

Dr Jamir expressed her gratitude for the positive work done by Vitamin Angels in the state and looks forward to more positive ventures with the new partnership.