Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
Open Access

Abstract

Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) carries severe implications for a child�s development. The survival of a child suffering from severely acute malnourishment is majorly dependent on the management of SAM, and scaling up the framework for addressing malnutrition is one of its main components. A severely malnourished child has a higher risk of mortality as compared to an ideally nourished child. Bal Poshan Yojana under the aegis of Project Tushti, a public-private partnership (PPP) model, aims at strengthening the framework of treatment for SAM children by working towards building a sustainable eco-system through engaging the government body, private practitioners and implementing bodies. Bal Poshan Yojana is a novel approach implemented for the first time in the Devbhumi Dwarka district of Gujarat for the management of SAM under a PPP model. The private practitioners and centres were empanelled and trained on the treatment of SAM. SAM children with medical complications were screened through anthropometric measurements and appetite tests carried out by Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (or RBSK, a program for child health) medical team. High-risk cases were referred to the nearest empanelled Bal Poshan Centre in the area. Children were treated for 14 days at the Bal Poshan Centre as per the protocol of the National Rehabilitation Centre and then discharged if the children fulfilled the criteria. The treatment included a 14-day treatment protocol and three follow-ups in an interval of 15 days each. The data was analyzed with appropriate statistical tests. Since its inception, a total of 102 severely malnourished children under five years of age have completed their treatment successfully, including three follow-ups. Around 60.79% of SAM children have been found to become normal in their nutritional status.

Biography

Jimeet Soni is currently employed as a consultant for maternal, infant, and young child nutrition at the Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar. He is extremely keen in the cascade model's application to the capacity building of frontline workers in the Gujarat's districts of Bharuch, Mehsana, and Surat. He has worked to combat malnutrition by implementing the "Bal Poshan Yojna" in Gujarat's Devbhoomi Dwarka district as part of Project TUSHTI, which is directed toward Kuposhan Mukt Dwarka by NAYARA Energy for the first time ever in India (a CSR project led by JSI & IIPHG). Additionally collaborated with the Department of AYUSH on an interventional trial using ayurvedic drugs to improve recipients' nutritional condition in the Dwarka District. In India, he has worked in a variety of clinical and public health settings. He participated in Gujarat's Panchmahal Wing of the All India Medical Student Association.