MUMBAI: Britannia Nutrition Foundation recently completed its 11 year anniversary in addressing child malnutrition in India.
Over these years, the Foundation has been collaborating with various government and non government stakeholders to address malnutrition and iron deficiency anemia among children, adolescents and women. The Foundation through its holistic program approach is working to improve the nutritional status of the communities near Britannia’s manufacturing sites.
As a part of its on-going commitment, the CSR arm of India’s Largest Bakery Foods Company, Britannia, is determined to positively impact over 1 lakh beneficiaries spread across more than 300 villages & slums in 8 states. This is being achieved through its two flagship programs – Swasth Bharat and Suposhan.
Swasth Bharat program is directed towards addressing malnutrition in children under 6 years by focusing on the main contributing factors, including child feeding practices, dietary diversity, hygiene & sanitation, strengthening service access and delivery. Engaging & empowering communities, especially women, is also an important element of the program to break the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition.
Suposhan program addresses iron deficiency anemia among adolescents by taking a comprehensive approach in the development of knowledge and encouraging a positive attitude towards proper health, nutrition and hygiene practices. These programs are also extended through 300 Anganwadi Centres.
To date, through various initiatives, lives of lakhs of people have been touched across five states of Bihar, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka. The support is being expanded to more states including Tamil Nadu, Assam and Maharashtra with an aim to reach the length & breadth of the country.
Varun Berry, Trustee, Britannia Nutrition Foundation said, “Child malnutrition is a chronic problem in India affecting 1 in every 3 children. The lack of access to nutrition leads to impaired growth and development. As we complete 11 years, Britannia Nutrition Foundation remains steadfast in its commitment to combat malnutrition and supporting the government’s vision for a ‘Kuposhan’ (malnutrition) and Anemia ‘Mukt’ Bharat. We are now enhancing our efforts to reach out to more than 1 lakh children, adolescents and mothers and working closely with district level authorities and other partners to augment their efforts.’’
Since its inception in 2010, Britannia Nutrition Foundation has focused on improving health and nutritional well-being of children and their communities.
The programs are implemented through a multi-pronged approach that works at three levels:
(i) At the Anganwadi Centre level, the Foundation provides capacity building support to the Anganwadi workers, helpers and ASHA workers thereby enabling them to deliver quality nutrition and health services for children, expectant/new mothers , and adolescent girls.
(ii) At the Community level, to foster community’s participation & ownership and through a behavior change-led intervention, the Foundation facilitates improvements in mothers’ and caregivers’ knowledge and practice of health, WASH and nutrition. Women are identified and trained to become community change agents
(iii) At the School level, by developing positive attitude and knowledge towards health, hygiene and nutrition practices, identifying and training adolescents to be Nutrition Champions..
The programmes are implemented in collaboration with the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) of the Department of Women & Child Development, Health & Education Department and other partners.
