New Delhi, Oct 12, 2024: Akshaya Patra and Vitamin Angels India have joined forces to address the critical issues of hunger and hidden hunger in select parts of the country.
The announcement came on the sidelines of a business roundtable held in Mumbai recently.
While India has made strong progress in addressing women and child health, challenges remain particularly associated with the population at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid. This partnership aims to leverage the strength of both organizations to tackle the dual challenges of food insecurity and micronutrient deficiencies in children and women. The initiative, while focussing on under-5 children, will also target maternal health as a key focus area and promote the social and economic agency of women by raising awareness about healthy nutrition practices for women and children, ensuring the development, care, and protection of children through access to learning, nutrition, and complementary food supplementation.
Women and children have historically been the most marginalised when it comes to nutrition, due to lack of agency at the household level. The partnership will capitalise on the strength both organisations bring to the table to ensure that nutritionally vulnerable mothers and children receive essential nutrition and health services. Akshaya Patra will utilise its centralised kitchens, renowned for their lab-tested menus and stringent food safety protocols, to deliver wholesome, nutrient-rich meals to children. Vitamin Angels will bring its expertise in providing evidence-based nutrition interventions, focusing on the critical first 2,000 days of life, from pregnancy to a child's fifth birthday. The partnership also enables capacity building of Anganwadi workers to effectively implement these nutrition and health programs, ensuring a broader reach and impact.
Commenting on the partnership, Sunish Jauhari, President, Vitamin Angels India, stated, “Our partnership with Akshaya Patra underscores our shared commitment to fighting both visible hunger and hidden hunger. By combining our resources, we are not just tackling a child’s hunger but also ensuring that children, pregnant women, and mothers have access to the micronutrients they need to thrive. Hidden hunger—micronutrient deficiencies—remains a critical issue. Through this partnership, we aim to support and complement existing government initiatives, helping to ensure that no vulnerable population is left behind in the fight against malnutrition and hunger.”
Shridhar Venkat - CEO, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, added, “This partnership is an important step in ensuring that our beneficiaries receive not just meals, but nutrition that contributes to their overall health and development. Akshaya Patra has always been dedicated to addressing classroom hunger, and now, with Vitamin Angels’ expertise, we are expanding our impact by tackling micronutrient deficiencies. Together, we can ensure that children and their families have the nutrition needed to lead healthier, more productive lives.”
Furthermore, the partnership will encourage pregnant women to increase the uptake of iron-folic acid (IFA) and calcium tablets while counselling new mothers on early and exclusive breastfeeding and the timely introduction of complementary foods. Additionally, the project will provide health and nutrition counselling, as well as guidance on hygiene and safe drinking water to adolescent girls. For under-five children, Vitamin A and deworming will be provided, and nutrition-centric behaviours among adolescent girls, including compliance with IFA supplementation, will be promoted. The initiative will also offer anaemia counselling to women of reproductive age, aiming to reduce anaemia rates through improved nutrition and education.
