The State Health department has come up with a crunchy solution – Ayush Pushti Scheme – to address the problem of malnutrition among children in the State.
Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare U T Khader on Friday launched the scheme which envisages providing children at anganwadi centres with nutritious herbal biscuits to boost their immunity, improve their health, digestion and memory.
On a pilot basis, the scheme will be launched in Bijapur and Jamakhandi taluks in North Karnataka.
Dubbed as the first-of-its-kind initiative in the country, the biscuits are manufactured by the department of Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy). While 40 per cent of the orange-flavoured biscuits comprises moong dal, groundnut, ragi and wheat, 30 per cent is sugar, 20 per cent ghee and 10 per cent ayurvedic medicinal ingredients such as cardamom, honey, ashwagandha and amla.
The biscuits are being manufactured at the Government Central Pharmacy in Bangalore. They can be preserved for six months, the Minister told reporters.
Clinical research conducted by the department has shown rapid improvement in the health of children who have gained an average weight of 800 grams to one kg in one month. The research was done on about 90 children in Bangalore and Ramanagara districts recently. Under the pilot project, about 3,000 children, especially those sufferring from malnutrition, will be covered for three months. If proved successful, the scheme will be extended across the State, he added.
The Union government has extended financial assistance of Rs 30 lakh for the pilot project. About 12 lakh children below the age six years in the State are estimated to be malnourished. Of this, about 47,000 are suffering from severe malnourishment.
Khader said the State government was planning to make the biscuits available in the market if the scheme succeeds. “We will explore the commercial angle and ensure that it is available to all. The department will provide the biscuits free of cost only to anganwadi children,” he said.
Principal Secretary to Health and Family Welfare department M Madan Gopal said the project would be closely monitored and data recorded on a fortnightly basis. It will help the government to assess the feasibility, cost-effectiveness and sustainability of the scheme for extending it across the State, he said.