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Project Name: Project Partners: Project Number: Website: |
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Supplementary Nutritional Support for Women and Children Gramin Vikas Vigyan Samiti (GRAVIS) Jodphur TH.GRA.NUT.0405 |
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Pregnant women & lactating mothers need supplementary nutrition in addition to what they consume at home. This is essential in order to maintain their good health, which in turn benefits the child and reduces the incidences of disease and malnutrition in both women and children. Wells for India is supporting 150 pregnant women and feeding mothers of the Pabupura area with supplementary nutrition and awareness/information about neonatal, antenatal, post natal care. It is planned to target pregnant women from the 4th month of their pregnancy and feeding mothers until the child is 6 months old. In order to asses the impact of the work it is planned to monitor the women and children until the children are 2 years old. Recent Progress: The project continues to provide supplementary nutrition to sixty pregnant women and lactating mothers of seven villages in the Pabupura cluster of villages. 3 Kg bulger, 1 Kg Jaggery, 1 Kg Lentils, and 500 ml edible oil were distributed monthly to each beneficiary. In addition, the women were encouraged to promote safe motherhood. Issues like immunization and vaccination, personal hygiene, the importance of breast feeding, safe delivery measures, family planning and birth spacing were discussed. |
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Case Study: Nathu Devi, Nathu Devi, a frail-looking young woman, is a beneficiary of the nutrition program. Nathu’s name was put forward by the Village Development Committee (VDC) to GRAVIS since she came from a very poor family and was suffering from excessive weakness. So, she was selected as one of the beneficiaries of the nutritional support programme. Many people thought that she would not survive the pregnancy . She was five months pregnant when she started the programme and when she took her food home, her husband and in- laws asked her to make it available to the entire family. At this point, the GRAVIS team had to intervene and counsel Nathu’s family members, who were told how important it was for Nathu to get a balanced diet. Nathu’s mother-in-law was the first to understand the point that the team was making. She assured the GRAVIS team that she would ensure that Nathu’s ration remained hers. Last August, Nathu gave birth to a healthy child and it was Nathu’s mother-in-law who came to GRAVIS’ field centre with sweets to thank them for ensuring that Nathu remained in good health. When the team met Nathu, she said that it was not only the ration that helped her to keep healthy, but also the information on pregnancy that she got from the project team, which helped her to understand the complication of her situation and thus follow all the recommended safeguards. |