Back in November 2016, we launched the Nutriplus Health Camp as a pilot project at the Government Primary School Sahakarnagar, in association with the Lions Club of Kodigehalli, and the support of BBMP Corporator Mr.Chethan. Around 180 students between the ages of 5 and 10 years participated in the Health Camp program aimed at providing nutritional support to them. These students were served a Nutriplus Protein Shake every day for the duration of the project.
Participating students were categorized into three segments – undernourished, sub-moderately nourished and well-nourished (WHO Classifications) based on assessments that were conducted three times in the duration of the Health Camp —once at the beginning before the program was launched on November 14, 2016, the second time at the mid-way point on January 17, 2017, and the third time at the completion of the pilot project at the end of three months on Feb 10, 2017.
The nutritional assessment is required to track the acceleration in the growth of the children.
For the purposes of the assessment, the height, weight and BMI (Body Mass Index) of each participating student was noted before the program was launched and then progress was tracked by mapping the BMI on the CDC growth chart for boys and girls given by WHO.
The first assessment revealed that 47.74% of the students were undernourished before the Health Camp was launched. 30.32% of students were classified under the well-nourished segment.
Once the project was underway, students were served a delicious Nutriplus Protein Power Health Shake every day, to provide them with their daily requirement. The formulation of Nutriplus Protein Power includes an excellent combination of vitamins and minerals. The children’s version which additionally contains Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA), a polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acid, considered to be a beneficial fat.
Each serving of the Nutriplus Protein Power provides 5.8 gms of protein and when combined with milk (additional 6.4 gms) gives the child 12 gms of first class protein per serving of the shake.
When the mid term assessments were conducted in January, a significant improvement was seen in the group. The number of under-nourished students decreased by 16% and the number of students under the well-nourished category increased by 13%. Similarly, those classified under ‘sub-moderately nourished increased by 5.7%.
At the final assessment, a month later, the results continued to be encouraging. See chart below for assessment statistics.
Some fast facts from UNICEF about the state of under nutrition among children in IndiaAt an event held at the school to mark the end of the Health Camp, these results were celebrated by the school officials, and officers of the Lions Club who helped us implement the program. Mr. A.R. Srinivas – Block Education Officer, Bangalore North 4 along with Lion B Mohan, pmjf, District Governor, Lions International, District 317 F, Bangalore were present during the summation.
- 20% of children under five years of age suffer from wasting due to acute under nutrition.
- More than one third of the world’s children who are wasted live in India.
- 43% of Indian children under five years are underweight and 48% (i.e. 61 million children) are stunted due to chronic under nutrition.
- India accounts for more than 3 out of every 10 stunted children in the world.
- Under nutrition is substantially higher in rural than in urban areas.
Under nutrition jeopardises children’s survival, health, growth and development, and it slows national progress towards development goals.
QNet is actively participating in promoting awareness programs and implementing Health Camps in government schools in India to help alleviate the challenges of under nutrition.
