The role of timely intervention in addressing malnutrition

Belonging to a scheduled tribe, 12 year old Rita is a resident of the Balangir district in Odisha.

At her age, she weighed a shockingly low 26 kgs and was severely anaemic. When she reached puberty, her anaemia also caused irregular periods and unbearable abdominal pain – something that gradually led to irregularities in her school attendance.

It wasn’t just Rita! Most of the adolescents in her community were found to be severely anaemic when CRY project PAP conducted a haemoglobin test in collaboration with the Rashtriya Bal Swastha Karikram - Odisha government’s health department.

CRY swung into action and organized a series of sessions on nutrition education with the adolescent girls. They encouraged kitchen gardens that could provide tricolour food and advised increased consumption of drumsticks, papaya, banana and moong as well as regular intake of folic acid and deworming tablets.

The project staff closely monitored the community’s adherence to these nutrition guidelines and just a year later, when the haemoglobin test was conducted again, Rita’s weight had increased to 34 kgs and her anaemia had been resolved.

Rita began to attend school regularly again and today, leads the adolescent girls’ collective to help build awareness on nutrition among other children like her!

You can give more children like Rita the chance at a healthier future. Donate to CRY by clicking here.