PALANPUR, DEC 25
Malnutrition has been a big concern in one of the largest milk producing districts of Asia. However for over a year now, Smile Foundation has been successfully working in Banaskantha to fight against anaemia, malnutrition among adolescent girls.
Smile Foundation’s Nutrition Enhancement Program aimed to reduce the prevalence of anemia, malnutrition among adolescent girls in Banaskantha, Gujarat has completed a year of successful implementation. Supported by a unique ‘nutritious laddoo’ recipe created by Master Chef Vikas Khanna, more than 70% of the 1,000 girls covered under the project have experienced tremendous improvement in hemoglobin levels as well the BMI status, leading to an improved health and nutrition levels The program has a footprint across 10 villages in Palanpur, touching lives of more than 1,000 beneficiaries.
Gujarat’s Banaskantha is one of the aspirational districts from 117 aspirational districts in India. A baseline study conducted in the region by Smile Foundation to assess the nutritional status of adolescent girls (14 to 19 years), revealed that 78% of adolescent girls are anemic (varying from mild to severe), a much higher percentage than the national average of 50.3%. The study further revealed that around 84% of the respondents have never consumed any multi-vitamin or iron-folic acid supplements, and most of them had no awareness of anemia or ever having checked their anemic status. Realizing the pressing need for an intervention, Project ‘Sampoorna‘ was introduced in 2018 to make a difference to the status of women’s health with Smile Foundation as the implementing partner and PepsiCo Foundation as the donor under their CSR initiative.
To make sustainable change the baseline study showed dietary changes could be easily adopted if the solutions came from local ingredients. Michelin Star Chef and Pepsico Ambassador Vikas Khanna was invited to develop a nutritious “laddoo” recipe to supplement the girls’ diet. He used locally available ingredients like jaggery, sesame seeds, and maize flour to develop an easy to make and low-cost supplement that helped the girls improve their iron levels. A total of 15,000 laddoos were distributed to girls over a period of 10 months. The laddoos were given twice a week and had to be consumed it in the center itself. This was supplemented with iron and folic acid tablets at periodic intervals. In addition, several knowledge-enhancement activities were conducted among girls and communities pertaining to food and nutrition like kitchen gardening, which enforced the importance of healthy eating habits and a balanced diet.
Speaking about the partnership, Santanu Mishra, co-founder, and executive trustee, Smile Foundation said, “We share PepsiCo Foundation’s vision to help address the nutrition gap among children from underprivileged communities. It is our endeavor to bring about behavioral change that will help adolescent girls understand the importance of a nutritious diet, and we believe this will create a ripple effect for their family and future generations. Further, we hope that creating livelihood skills and opportunities will help them sustain the change.”
Reducing the prevalence of anemia among children, adolescents and women in the reproductive age (15-49 years) has been a priority for the Government. The project is in alignment with Government’s Poshiyan Abhiyan and Anemia Mukt Bharat initiative that endeavors to reduce the prevalence of anemia by 3 percentage points per year between the years 2018 and 2022.
