The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to begin a door-to-door drive to find and treat malnutrition cases in Mumbai. The initiative had come to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic that had resulted in anganwadis being shut. Anganwadis is a type of rural child care centre in India that was started by the government in 1975.
Doctors said that it is necessary to keep a tab on malnourished or undernourished children. They are more vulnerable to contracting coronavirus disease because of low immunity and several other underlying health issues.
A non-governmental organization (NGO) 'Praja,' had compiled a report of their analysis of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai’s (MCGM) school health check-ups and deaths data in Mumbai. They found that 17% of children in anganwadis across the city were underweight in 2018-19. Out of these, 2,713 were severely underweight.
The areas in which the civic administration is planning to start the drive are Mankhurd, Govandi, Malad -Malvani.
Due to the pandemic, the health of malnourished children had taken a back seat. However, now the situation has to be addressed on an immediate basis, said a senior health officer from the civic health department.
Meanwhile, BMC has already begun their door-to-door campaign for TB to prevent its spread in Mumbai.
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