India has one of the highest number of undernourished children in the world, almost 50% of children below 3 are malnourished.

Government of India recorded 18,486 deaths caused by malnourishment in children between 0-6 in 2011 in Maharashtra alone.

Yet the solution is very practical and incorporates a multipronged approach of supplementary feeding, medical provision and education and capacity building of the communities.

MAHARASHTRA

MAHARASHTRA

The Egg DOT (Directly Observed Therapy) in partnership with Ojus Medical Institute screened over 8000 children across 52 tribal villages in Maharashtra and provided nutritional support to 576 children across these villages through 81 trained health workers. These health workers worked with the Anganwadis to identify severely malnourished children under 6; and provided nutritional supplements such as eff, soya milk and ghee.

The care givers were educated on health, nutrition and hygiene practices to prevent children from slipping into severe malnourishment. The project successfully ended in June 2015 after five phases delivering over 85% effectiveness.