The social action arm of the Catholic Church in the Indian state of Meghalaya has launched a program aimed at providing adequate nutrition to pregnant women and lactating mothers.
The initiative has been undertaken in 40 communities through the Church’s health facilitation centers that employs five nurses and 40 village health workers in five health centers.
Father Bensar Wyswiwyg, director of the social service department of the local Church said the project aims to improve the nutritional and health condition of expectant mothers, nursing mothers, and children under the age of five.
It also aims to lower incidents of diseases by enhancing hygiene and sanitation in 254 villages in the region.
The priest said practical demonstrations and training on food preparation and seminars on breastfeeding are also organized to ensure that pregnant women and lactating mothers get adequate care and help.
Father Bensa said that at least 550 people have been served by the health camps organized by the Church.
“We hold monthly review meetings at the health facilitation centers and hold training for women on kitchen garden so that they can cultivate nutritional plants for regular consumption,” said the priest.
A paper published last year on the “dietary diversity and its determinants” among Khasi and Garo indigenous women in Meghalaya noted that malnutrition is high despite the availability of plant foods in villages.
It noted that among indigenous women in India, the levels of food intake deficiency and under-nutrition are high and almost always higher than in their non-indigenous counterparts.
The research indicates that the diets consumed by the indigenous women in Meghalaya are high in starchy staples but largely lacking in green leafy vegetables, orange-colored vegetables, and fruits, resulting in micronutrient deficiency among children and women.
