ROLE OF PUBLIC HEALTH NUTRITION IN NATION DEVELOPMENT

What is Public Health Nutrition?

• Public health is defined as the collective action taken by the society
• to protect and promote the health of entire population.
• Public health nutrition focuses on the promotion of good health through-
o Nutrition
o and primary prevention of nutrition related illness in the population.
• It can also be described as art & science of promoting health & preventing
diseases, prolonging life, through the organised efforts/action of society.
• Public health nutrition is built on the foundation of basic and applied sciences,
operates in a public health context, and use the skills and knowledge of
epidemiology and health promotion.
 THE GOALS ARE AS FOLLOWS:-
o to achieve an optimum state of nutrition for all.
o to reduce the incidence of moderate and
o severe malnutrition and stunted growth
among children.
o special priority for woman, mothers and
children.
o Elimination of all diseases

o Improving household food security through poverty alleviation programs

o Promoting appropriate diet and healthy lifestyle.

o Nutritional advisory services for individual and nutrition education for

vulnerable groups.
o Technical advice to school feeding programmes on Health aspects.
 Nutritional Problems in India:
* It is important to have knowledge about the nutritional
problems in our country.

1. Protein-Energy Malnutrition(PEM)
Caused by inadequate food intake, i.e.,
insufficient intake of (energy and protein).
Deficiency of food and energy is termed as
‘marasmus’ and that caused by protein
deficiency is termed
2. Micronutrient ‘kwashiorkor’.
deficiencies : If the diet is deficient in energy and protein content it is
also likely to contain inadequate amounts of micronutrients viz. minerals and
vitamins.
It may lead to-
*Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA)
*Vitamin A deficiency (VAD
*Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD)
(5) REASONABLE PRICES- It also ensures the availability of essential food
articles at reasonable prices to the public particularly below poverty line.

(6) LAND REFORMS: Land reforms measures are implemented so that the
vulnerability of the landless and landed poor can be reduced.

(7) HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE: Increased health and immunization

facilities are provided to all. The population in reproductive age group is
empowered through education as they are responsible for family size.

(8) BASIC HEALTH AND NUTRITION

KNOWLEDGE: Basic health and nutrition
knowledge with special focus on wholesome
in fact feeding practices is imparted to people
extensively and effectively.

(9) PREVENTION OF FOOD

ADULTERATION: Prevention of food
adulteration is strengthened by gearing up
the enforcement machinery.
 Role of public health nutrition in the national
development:

1) TO ENSURE FOOD SECURITY: In order to ensure complete food security, a per

capita availability of 185kg/ person per year of food grains is to be attained. This requires
the production of around 308 million tonnes of good grains per year (economic survey
2020-21)

2) IMPROVEMENT IN THE DIET PATTERN THROUGH PRODUCTION AND

DEMONSTRATION: Improves the diet pattern by promoting the production and
increasing the per capita availability of nutritionally rich foods such as production of body
building foods and protective foods.

3) IMPROVING THE PURCHASING POWER AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

SYSTEM: Public health nutrition has necessarily improve the purchasing power of the
landless rural and urban poor by implementing employment generation Programmes.

4) EQUITABLE FOOD DISTRIBUTION: Equitable food distribution is ensured through

the expansion of public distribution system.
Strategies/intervention to tackle Nutritional Problems
Government is making considerable efforts to solve
the problems. Various health nutrition programs
and policies are –
1. POSHAN Abhiyaan - launched in Jhunjhunu,
Rajasthan in March 2018

* Targets stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia

(among young children, women and adolescent
girls) and low birth rate.
*Meant to monitor and review the implementation of all such schemes.

* The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) is

implementing POSHAN Abhiyaan.

*Gradual scaling-up of interventions to all districts in the country by 2022.

Some direct short term interventions are:
* Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS )to cover all
vulnerable children in the age group of 0-6 years and all
pregnant and lactating mothers,

* fortification of essential foods (salt fortified with iodine),

* production and popularisation of low cost nutritious foods

from indigenous and locally available raw material by
involving women in this activity

* Control of micronutrient deficiencies among vulnerable

groups, namely deficiencies of iron, vitamin A, folic acid and
iodine
Indirect policy instruments include-

(a) Ensuring food security i.e., improving availability of food

(b) Improvement in dietary patterns by ensuring availability of

nutritionally rich foods

(c) Poverty alleviation for rural and urban poor through

*employment generation schemes
*public distribution system
*improving health and family welfare
*prevention of food adulteration
*basic nutrition and knowledge,
*monitoring of nutrition programmes,
*improvement of status of women, education and literacy and
community participation.
2.Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)-
*The scheme was launched in 1975.
* Government programme in India which provides food, preschool
education, and primary healthcare to children under 6 years of age and
their mothers.
* Programme is also intended to combat gender inequality by providing
girls the same resources as boys.
*To lay the foundation for proper psychological, physical and social
development of the child.
*To reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school
dropout.
*Supplementary Nutrition; Pre-school non-formal education; Nutrition &
health education Immunization; Health check-up and Referral services etc.
are done by Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and Anganwadi Helpers (AWHS)
at a basic level.
 3. Mid-day Meal Programme-
*Also known as school launch programme and in operation since 1961.

Objectives- *To attract more children in school.

*Protecting children from classroom hunger
* Increasing school enrolment and attendance
* Improved socialisation among children belonging to all castes, reduce
school drops outs, and improve the attendance.

Principles-1. Meal should be supplement

not a substituent to home diet.
2. It should supply at-least 1/3 of the total
energy requirement and ½ of the protein
needed.
3. Low cost, locally available and menu
should be frequently changed,
and should be prepared in school.
4. SPECIAL NUTRITION PROGRAMME (SNP)-

*The programme was launched in the country in 1970-71.

*Operated under Minimum Need Programme.
*The programme was taken up in rural areas inhibited predominantly by
lower socio-economic groups in tribal and urban slums .
*It provides supplementary feeding of about 300 calories and 10 grams of
protein to preschool children and about 500 calories and 25 grams of
protein to expected and nursing mothers for six days a week.
*Fund for nutrition component of ICD programme is taken from the SNP
budget.

5. National Nutritional Anemia

Prophylaxis Programme-

*Launched in 1970, to prevent nutritional

anemia in mother and children.
*Eligibility criteria- If the haemoglobin is between 10-12g daily supplement
with iron and folic acid tab is prescribed.

*If it is less than 10gm, the patient is referred to the nearest health centre.

*Focuses on- Iron and folic acid supplementation

Iron fortification
6. National lodine Deficiency Disorders Control Programme
(NIDDCP) 1986-
Objectives and components –
*Supply of iodated salt in place of
*Surveys to assess the magnitude of the lodine Deficiency Disorders.
common salt.
*Resurvey after every 5 years to assess the
extent of lodine Deficiency Disorders.
* Laboratory monitoring of iodated salt
and urinary iodine excretion.
*Health education & Publicity.
Programs related to System Strengthening /Welfare
1. National Rural Health Mission: Launched in 2005.
* Provide accessible, affordable and quality health care
to the rural population, especially the vulnerable
groups.
* Under the NRHM, the Empowered Action Group
(EAG) States, as well as the North Eastern States,
Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, have been
given special focus.
* Reduction in Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and
Maternal Mortality
* To provide universal access to quality health care
services at affordable costs
* To promote healthy lifestyles among the rural
community.
2. Reproductive and Child Health Programme: RCH –I was launched in
1997 and RCH-II was launched in 2005.
*Main objective of the program was to bring about a change in mainly three
critical health indicators-
*reducing total fertility rate
* infant mortality rate
*maternal mortality rate 
3.National Water supply & Sanitation
Programme:
* launched in 1954.
*The following targets were fixed by the Indian
Government for the decade:
100% Urban and Rural Water Supply
50% Urban Sanitation
25% Rural Sanitation
*Objective- To providing safe water supply and adequate drainage
facilities for the entire urban and rural population of the country.
 National Health Policies
1. National Health Policy 2002:
* Achieving an acceptable standard of good health of Indian Population
* Decentralizing public health system by upgrading infrastructure in
existing institutions
* Ensuring a more equitable access to health service across the social and
geographical expanse of India

2.National Population Policy 2000:

*to address the unmet needs for contraception
*health care infrastructure
and health personnel
*and to provide integrated service delivery for basic reproductive and
child health care
3.National AIDS control and Prevention Policy:
*To create socio-economic environment so that all sections
of population can protect themselves from the infection
*and families and communities can provide care and support
to people living with HIV/AIDS.

4. National Blood Policy:

* To ensure an adequate and safe blood supply.
*The establishment of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) at the
centre and Drug Controllers in the states is to ensure quality and to
monitor the functioning of blood banks.

5. National Charter for Children:

*Nutritious food, safe drinking water and environmental sanitation and
hygiene to be provided to poor families.
*The charter recognizes the need of every child to protection from
abandonment and neglect, and the duty to assure minimum needs and
security of children.
6. National Nutrition Policy:

• National Nutrition Policy

adopted by the Government
of India in 1993 for the
Department of Women and
Child
• To reduce the incidence of
severe (8.7 per cent) and
moderate (43.8 per cent)
malnutrition.
• To have a safe, nutritious,
culturally appropriate food
supply i.e. economically
accessible & available in
adequate amounts to promote
health, prevent dietary
deficiency, and reduce other
diet-related diseases.