Food and Nutritional Security through Nutrition-Sensitive Interventions in the Hills of Uttarakhand, India

Abstract

This paper deals with the investigation of existing malnutrition among women of the hill region of Uttarakhand (a mountain state in India that comes under the northwest Himalayan region) and nutrition related interventions to address it. The existing level of malnutrition among women in high hills was evaluated using Body Mass Index and the prevalence of chronic energy deficiency was found to be 36.5 percent. Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women of reproductive age (MDD-W) was calculated before and after the implementation of interventions with the same set of respondents. Overall impact of nutrition related interventions shows that the MDD-W score for women reached from 3.9 to 5.5 after interventions. As a result of interventions more than ninety percent of women achieved minimum dietary diversity with adequate micronutrient intake. Specifically designed agriculture-based interventions with focus on nutrition have resulted in a more diversified and nutritive dietary pattern among the target group in the hill region of Uttarakhand