In India, prioritising women’s nutrition is essential for a brighter future. High rates of deficiencies, especially among adolescents, hinder progress. This calls for a comprehensive approach, targeting all life stages. Strengthening policies and frontline health workers’ capacity is crucial. Bridging rural-urban disparities is imperative. Together, we aim for an empowered, nourished India, where every woman thrives.
When women’s rights are upheld and their access to opportunities is improved, the positive effects can be transformative for societies. Research suggests that improved nutrition can contribute to economic development by enhancing human capital. However, social and economic inequities persistently affect women across geographies, limiting their access to education and work opportunities. Undernutrition stands as a critical barrier to achieving women’s equality. In India, where women are primarily responsible for household meals, they still lack access to a nutritious diet.
Present Scenario
Empowering girls and women by ensuring they have access to adequate nutrition is not just a basic human right; it is a strategic investment in our country’s future. A considerable number of women in India are part of the workforce, contributing their skills and labor to various sectors. However, the stark reality is that a substantial portion of these women face severe undernutrition. Nearly 19 per cent of Indian women have a below-normal Body Mass Index (BMI). This not only jeopardises their own health but also has far-reaching implications for the nation’s economic potential.
When we examine the data on micronutrient deficiency, the situation appears even more alarming. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) for 2019-21, over half of India’s girls and women aged 15-49 suffer from anaemia, a crucial nutrition and health indicator. Anaemia, often caused by deficiencies in iron, vitamins, and other essential nutrients, can have lasting effects on women’s health, pregnancy outcomes, and the health of their children.
“India also exhibits alarmingly high rates of vitamin D deficiencies, with prevalence ranging from 40 per cent to as high as 90 per cent across the nation. This can result in suboptimal calcium absorption, leading to compromised bone health. Additionally, nearly 28 per cent of children and 37 per cent of adolescents have a folate deficiency, which impairs the absorption of iron. Furthermore, 22 per cent of all children and 16 per cent of adolescents are deficient in vitamin A, which could lead to blindness and other disorders.
The Way Forward
Nutrition interventions that exclusively target the period before, during, and after pregnancy fall short in meeting women’s needs throughout their entire lives: during adolescence, pre-conception, and in later years. A lifecycle approach to women’s nutrition empowers them to excel in education and work, exercise their choices, and live with dignity. This is achieved by reducing vulnerability to health issues, promoting economic empowerment, and fostering a stronger sense of well-being.
To support a lifecycle approach to women’s nutrition in India, we must strengthen policies, programs, and practices related to the issue. Traditionally, programmes have focused on maternal nutrition, often overlooking the specific needs of non-lactating and non-pregnant women. This lack of attention hampers policy coherence and multi-system, multi-sector actions to improve nutrition. The current momentum and political will for nutritional improvements provide an opportunity to address the nutritional needs of women and girls throughout their life cycle.
NFHS-5 also reveals that women in rural India fare worse than those in urban regions in almost all nutrition-related indicators. Strengthening the capacity of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) to provide accurate nutrition awareness and connect beneficiaries with relevant schemes is crucial in narrowing this gap, as they serve a vast majority of India’s women. Offering comprehensive training and providing these frontline health workers with the necessary tools and skills to address women’s nutrition challenges at the grassroots level is essential. Simultaneously, leveraging platforms like District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committees (DISHA) or Village Health, Sanitation, and Nutrition Committees (VHIR) can aid in real-time monitoring of progress, or the lack thereof, in improving women’s nutrition.
Adolescence is one of the most critical stages of growth, marked by rapid physical development that escalates nutrient requirements. In India, 40 per cent of girls and 18 per cent of boys suffer from anemia, emphasising the urgency to enhance the nutritional intake of girls during this phase of life. To achieve this, we need to harmonise two pivotal elements: boosting community awareness and utilization of nutritional resources, with a distinct emphasis on adolescent nutrition, to establish enduring healthy dietary habits. School health programmes should actively involve adolescent girls by offering nutritious meals and providing comprehensive education on balanced diets and overall well-being.
Our mission to enhance women’s nutrition is a journey towards a brighter, more equitable India. It transcends political divides, uniting us all in the pursuit of a nation where every girl and woman is nurtured, empowered, and afforded equitable opportunities to leave her unique mark on history. Together, we will break the cycle of malnutrition and lay the foundation for a healthier, more prosperous India, where the empowerment of women through nutrition is not just a vision, but a resounding reality.
(The writer is the national president of Women’s Wing of National Congress Party (NCP) and Member of Parliament, Maharashtra)