Malnourishment among the children of tea garden workers' is a big concern in Assam. Those below 5 years of age -- with lower immunity -- are considered most vulnerable to Covid.
Poshan on Wheels -- a nationwide central government programme to evaluate the malnutrition among children -- is being carried out to check malnutrition levels in children of tea garden workers.
The programme also aims to identify the children most vulnerable to Covid in case a third wave strikes.
The focus is on the most vulnerable tea tribe community, already low on nourishment and immunity.
"The experts have been saying that children are most vulnerable and in tea gardens they are most, so the government thought that it has to focus on children nutrition and immunity," said Assam's Tea Tribe welfare Minister Sanjoy Kishan said.
Assam has 33 Lakh children.
According to National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2019-20, 9.1 per cent, 1 out of 10 children under the age of 5 are suffering from Severe Acute Malnourishment or SAM.
Three out of 10 (32.8%) children are underweight; 6 out of 10 (65.9%) females between the age of 15 to 49 suffer from Anaemia.
"We leave home early morning, we cant keep track of what our children are eating, with meagre pay we cant ensure nutrition and we get back home late evening. Without good food our children have low immunity," said Anjana Jaal, a tea garden worker at Tinsukia's Chandmari tea estate.
The vaccination status in Assam's 800 tea gardens is additional cause of concern --- of 10 lakh workers, only 55,000 have got both doses, while 6.5 lakh have got just one.
Non-vaccinated minors, with low immunity in the tea gardens, have higher exposure to the virus -- so, the Poshan Maah drive's spotlight is on them.
"In the Poshan Maah camps, we identified the children with low nutrition level , 80-90 percent and transfered them nutrition to centre," said Nivedita Moran, Nutritionist.
The Poshan on Wheels drive was launched in 2018. In its fourth year, Assam has reinvented it, to deploy its findings on malnourishment against Covid as well.
"Our focus also has been to make them aware of good health and hygiene practices and we tell them rhat best is to grow and eat from your kitchen garden and eat green veggies, herbs," explains Rakhi Burman, an district Anganwadi Supervisor of Tinsukia.
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