Food Based or Diet Based Strategies

Food Based or Diet Based Strategies Fortification (fortifying food with nutrients) Prevention (Universal /For all) Highly cost- effective Wide coverage Sustainable Requires research Participation of food industry Does not lead to awareness in the population about the importance of nutrition and nutrients Does not lead to long-term dietary/ behavioral changes Dietary Diversification Prevention (Universal /For all) Highly cost- effective Wide coverage Sustainable Provides many micronutrients simultaneously Improves food security Requires changes in eating behaviour Requires economic development to be feasible Requires change in agricultural policies Adapted from: Public Nutrition (Course Material) published by Indira Gandhi Open University Let us enlist the Nutrition programmes operating in our country: ICDS: It is an outreach programme for early childhood care and development, covering pregnant and nursing mothers and infants and young children upto years. Nutrient Deficiency Control programmes, namely, National Prophylaxis Programme for Prevention of Blindness due to Vitamin A deficiency, National Nutritional Anemia Prophylaxis programme, National Iodine Deficiency Disorder Control Programme, Food Supplementation Programmes like the Mid-Day Meal Programme, . Food Security Programmes, namely, Public Distribution System, Antodaya Anna Yojana, Annapurna Scheme, National Food for Work Programme, and . Self-employment and wage employment schemes. Self-employment and wage employment are social safety net programmes. Health Care: Health is a fundamental human right. It is the responsibility of the government to provide adequate health care to the citizens. Health care is not just medical care but it includes a multitude of services that should help to promote, maintain, monitor or restore health. In India, health care is provided at three levels : primary, secondary and tertiary. Primary level is the first level of contact of the individual, family or community with the health system. In our country, these services are provided through a network of primary health centres (PHCs). More complex health problems are resolved at the second level through district hospitals and community health centres. Community health centres function as the first referral level. Tertiary is the third and the highest level of health care. It deals with the more complex health problems that cannot be dealt with at the first two levels. Institutions at tertiary level are medical college hospitals, regional hospitals, specialised hospitals and All-India Institutes of Medical Sciences.