Saving
1.2 million Kids
Monday
/ 27 June :
Shri
Amitabh Kant , CEO -NITI Aayog , holds a consultation meeting with experts ,
Ministries and State departments on ,
"
National Nutrition Policy / India's Malnutrition : A Call for Action
"
Tuesday
/ 28 June :
UNICEF
releases a report which says, in India , 1.2 million kids ( under age 5 ) died
in 2015 , due to " preventable " causes
Even
though the eventual manifestation could well be pneumonia / diarrhea / sepsis
etc , the root cause is starvation ( - although , to remain politically correct
, UNICEF uses the term " malnutrition " ! )
That
is 3288 kids daily - 137 kids per hour !
This
need not come as a shock , despite the fact that the Integrated Child
Development Scheme - ICDS - was launched in India , as far back as 1975
In
2013 , a CAG report had criticized the Women and Child Development Ministry (
which is piloting the ICDS ), for diverting ICDS funds !
CAG
further pointed out that the State Governments had diverted Rs 57.82 crore from
ICDS to other activities !
Finding
faults will not save these kids !
There
are 74 millions of them in the age group of 3-6
Of
these , 54 million go to schools , where , I presume they get some nutrition
thru Mid-Day meals , even with all the associated deficiencies and corruption
scandals !
That
leaves 20 million who do not go to school , hopelessly mal-nourished
How
can we ensure that they get some nutritious food everyday ?
If
there is a will , there is a way - the following way :
#
FOOD
India's own " Energy Bar " ( a Chikki ) , made of a
protein-rich mixture of Peanuts + Jagerry ( 50 gms )
Call it NEUTRA-KID ( - may be our Food Research Institute can come up with a
better product )
#
PACKING
Eco friendly paper wrapper and paper boxes
#
MANUFACTURERS
FSSAI approved units located in Food Parks planned by Smt Harsimrat Kaur ,
Minister for Food
1000 Food Processing Units , each producing 20,000 NEUTRA-KID bars per day and
delivering to 100 nearby
post offices ( for 20 million kids )
#
DELIVERY POINTS
1.45 lakh post offices of India Post . May be they can pick-up / collect their
daily consignments from Units
#
TECHNOLOGY
* Each NEUTRA-KID bar wrapper will have a bar-code ( till such time
inserting RFID sensors become a reality )
* Bar code will carry all normal instructions + Delivery Destination (
Post Office )
* Each NEUTRA-KID bar will pass thru a Bar Code Reader on the Assembly
Line , before dispatch
* Info collected thru this reader will get transmitted to the Central
Server of concerned Ministries
* After taking his / her weight and entering in a online Database ,
hosted on the Central Server of
the concerned Ministries, each targeted child will get registered at the
nearest Post Office
* Each registered child will be issued a blue tooth enabled Smart phone,
duly pre-installed with a Mobile App
called " BANMALI " ( Banish Malnutrition in India ) , in which
Child's data / Aadhar No will be entered
* Every day , the concerned child ( and parent ) will visit the post
office to collect the NEUTRA-KID bar
* Before handing over bar, child will be weighed on a weighing machine
and the weight entered in BANMALI
The weight record graph will appear on the screen of the PC located at the Post
Office ( Blue Tooth )
* This record will also get transmitted ( of course , automatically ) to
the COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE where
the concerned child is " registered " ( this will be compulsory in
order to be eligible for this Scheme )
* Every time , a child is taken for his/her monthly HEALTH CHECK UP ( also
compulsory in order to receive
next month's NEUTRA-KID bars ) , concerned doctor will examine the child and
enter his findings in BANMALI
Doctor will be required to enter medicines prescribed as also , increase /
decrease in the QUOTA of NEUTRA-
KID bars recommended for the next month
All of these data will get relayed to the Central Servers of the concerned
Ministries
As
to the roles to be played by various agencies involved , I conceptualize as
follows :
WOMEN
and CHILD DEVELOPMENT MINISTRY :
#
Preparation of overall Policy and Procedures
#
Laying down of targets for each agency
#
Preparing and Monitoring Project Implementation
#
Making available funds to various agencies ( Rs 5 per bar = Rs 10 cr per day
for 20 million kids )
#
Creating / hosting IT Infrastructure and disbursement of hardware / software /
weighing scales / phones etc
#
Publishing on its web site , " Targets Vs Actual Achievement " graphs
, every quarter
FOOD
MINISTRY
#
Laying down Nutrition Specifications for NEUTRA-KID bars
#
Selecting / approving Food Processing Units
#
Place purchase orders using Auction process / making payments thru UPI (
Universal Payment Interface )
#
Ensuring timely delivery to 1.45 lakh post offices
#
Ensuring Quality through SGS
POST
OFFICES
#
After thorough scrutiny / verification , to register under-nourished kids .
Central Database will ensure that
there is no duplication ( same child registering at more than one post office )
#
Receive / Store / Distribute the NEUTRA-KID bars to registered kids , as per
direction of doctor at Community
Health Centre
#
Enter all data in BANMALI mobile app of each child and sync it with post office
server , connected to Central
Servers
#
At the end of the day , enter DAILY TRANSACTION DATA ( Receipts / Disbursement
/ Balance ) in server
COMMUNITY
HEALTH CENTERS
#
Resident doctor to examine each registered ( and eligible ) child , once a
month and prescribe ( into BANMALI )
medicines / next month's bar-quota
Medicines
to be handed out ( Free ) , on the spot ( no visit to chemist )
#
All these data to be entered into BANMALI ( and then synced with server of
Health Centre )
In turn , all these data will get transmitted to Central Servers of concerned
Ministries
If
there is a way to physically move the COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE CENTRES into the
premises of nearby Post Office , that would save a lot of hassle to the parents
/ kids
You
will notice that my proposal tightly integrates ALL the concerned Agencies
through internet enabled hardware and a SINGLE / COMMON software database ,
which not only prevents any " Benefit Leakages " but broadcasts
actual " Achievements " ( Weight gain / Reduced Mortality ) ,
instantaneously / automatically / transparently
I
hope the concerned Ministers and Secretaries and Shri Amitabh Kant , will
debate my proposal
It
is quite likely that they may improve upon it
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
30
June 2016
www.hemenparekh.in / blogs
hemen
parekh
Marol
, Mumbai , India
(
M ) +91 - 98,67,55,08,08
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