According to the Global Hunger Index survey, 2021, India ranks 101st out of 116 countries with a score of 27.5, which is considered “serious.”
Hunger in India may arise from several variables—availability of resources, rapid population growth, socioeconomic factors and food management methods. The result from any of these factors is however, a lack of required nutrients to lead a healthy and active life.
Consequently, 189.2 million people in India are undernourished.
One of the gravest subsets of the hunger distress is hunger among children. The Ministry of Women and Child Development in India estimates that the nation’s 33 lakh children are malnourished and more than 50% of them are severely malnourished.
Looking into the severity of the issue, the Indian government took many initiatives in the recent years to fight hunger and malnutrition. Some of these include National Food Security Mission, the National Nutrition Mission (NNM), Eat Right India Movement, Zero Hunger Programme, PM POSHAN and food fortification efforts.
ever— especially after the closure of schools following the pandemic reversed the benefits of the mid day meal programme that was being implemented in thousands of schools for two decades.
Hunger and malnourishment in children
Starvation’s catastrophic effect on children is malnourishment that disturbs the child’s physical and mental growth, functions of vital organs and immunity to diseases. It leads to:
Stunting: Low height for age from chronic or recurrent undernutrition
Wasting: Low weight-to-height ratio due to severe weight loss from starvation
It is a known fact that India does not suffer from shortage of food. Instead, it is the lack of awareness of nutritional requirements of a person and overall food management that needs to be addressed.
The Government of India is constantly working with NGOs, state authorities and local bodies on strategies and awareness programmes to tackle the danger. Among them is the mid day meal programme that the GOI mandated in Government and Government-aided schools. The result is that today, 120 million mid-day meal beneficiaries in India are being nourished and empowered with nutritious school meals every day.
NGOs’ role in nurturing children
Several not-for-profits and local government bodies collaboratively chalked out plans to execute the government strategies.
One such NGO in India is Akshaya Patra—an organization that started feeding mid-day meals to children in 2001. Today it feeds across 19,037 Government and Government-aided schools in 14 states and 2 union territories. It is renowned around the world for its service and has also won accolades for its transparency in financial reporting.
Akshaya Patra’s way forward
Akshaya Patra’s distribution of 441 million empowering meals to date shows in the success stories of its beneficiaries. While some are currently working as Charted Accountants in established companies, some are doctors, while some have become donors themselves.
As for the Foundation, it continues to look for more ways to support the health and dreams of the underprivileged communities.
Some of the ways in which you can support Akshaya Patra today are:
Anganwadi feeding: Believing in prevention more than cure, Akshaya Patra feeds pregnant mothers under the Anganwadi feeding programme to nourish them and their developing babies. It ensures malnourishment is uprooted in the crucial years of an infant’s growth.
Mid-day meal programme: Akshay Patra is renowned for executing the world’s largest NGO-run mid day meal programme. It currently feeds 1.8 million children across India every single day from its centralized and decentralized kitchens in 61 locations. The NGO for children is known for maintaining the highest standards in hygiene and smart cooking processes that have been continuously improving over the years. Some of such process improvement initiatives include Kaizen, CI Projects and Six Sigma methodologies.
Donate distribution vehicles: You can also donate vehicles for the efficient distribution of school meals from Akshaya Patra’s kitchens every day. The specifications for the vehicle are given to the donors which are then customized by the Foundation according to its needs. More vehicles mean more schools that Akshaya Patra can reach and more will be the children who will come to school for the meals.
Donate for kitchen utensils, plates and tumblers: A child will receive the maximum benefits only if the food is served in clean and food-safe utensils. Your donation for steel utensils, plates and tumblers to this NGO for children will ensure that they get the best and the safest meals.
Fundraise: Starting a fundraising campaign is a good solution if you lack a lumpsum amount to donate. You can leverage your social network to fund meals for millions of children for an entire school year. All you have to do is submit a title, image, and the target amount with Akshaya Patra and you will receive a confirmation email within hours.
Final thoughts
Hunger and malnourishment in India are the responsibility of the governments and their people alike. Without one or the other, India’s healthy and truly developed future is at stake. So, let’s donate for hunger elimination before it is late.
Donate today to empower a million young lives and encourage them to dream of a better future for India!
