Introduction
Malnutrition includes undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight and obesity. It is not caused merely by insufficient food, but by the interaction of health, sanitation, caregiving practices, gender relations and household poverty.
Multiple dimensions of malnutrition
- Healthcare: Maternal anaemia, repeated infections, inadequate antenatal care and incomplete immunisation impair nutrient absorption and child growth.
- Water and sanitation: Contaminated water, poor hygiene and open defecation increase diarrhoea and environmental enteric dysfunction.
- Caregiving: Inadequate breastfeeding, improper complementary feeding and lack of early stimulation weaken physical and cognitive development.
- Social factors: Early marriage, food taboos, gender discrimination and women’s limited decision-making perpetuate intergenerational malnutrition.
- Emerging challenge: Cheap, energy-dense processed foods contribute to obesity, creating a double burden of malnutrition.
Mission Poshan 2.0 response
- It integrates POSHAN Abhiyaan, Anganwadi Services and the Scheme for Adolescent Girls.
- Anganwadi Centres provide supplementary nutrition, growth monitoring, counselling and early childhood care.
- The Poshan Tracker supports real-time monitoring, while Jan Andolan promotes behavioural change and community participation.
- Its convergence approach links nutrition with health, sanitation and social protection.
Conclusion
Mission Poshan 2.0 must strengthen Anganwadi capacity, dietary diversity, local accountability and convergence with health, sanitation and women-empowerment programmes to break the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition.
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