In what can be termed as an irony, Government-driven schemes meant for reducing Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) have met with little success and have instead ended up extending life expectancy of children below five years of age and accelerating disability among the newborn children.
Experts, therefore, feel that there is a clear need to address the problem with a two pronged strategy — reduction in infant mortality and ensuring basic minimum diet for the children. "In the process of saving lives of millions of children, we are creating a pool of disabled children. Although we have been able to save them, in absence of proper diet, we will have a huge number of disabled people in the years to come," Dr Vandana Prasad, NCPCR member, said at a conference titled ‘Child Malnutrition: Sharing of Best Practices’, held on Friday. The conference was jointly organised by FICCI Aditya Birla CSR Centre for Excellence and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals ltd.
"The idea behind this initiative is to bring out a knowledge paper through constructive dialogue between various stakeholders such as leaders from Government, corporate, NGOs and relief agencies," said Cheryl Pinto, Director Corporate Affairs, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals ltd. "We need to introduce innovative ways to disseminate information on right and healthy practices among rural masses. Time has now come to employ practical solutions rather than theoretical ones to ensure that our children remain healthy," Pinto added.