Capacity Building of Rural Women

Training Program

S&T Interventions to Combat malnutrition in Women and Children

Details

quarter of women of reproductive age in India are malnourished, with a body mass index (BMI) below 18.5 kg/m. To address this issue, CSIR-NEIST in Jorhat, Assam collaborated with the Institute of Integrated Resources Management (IIRM) in Tezpur to implement a program aimed at reducing malnutrition in women and children. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Sonitpur district, along with Dibrugarh, Darrang, and Chirang, has a high rate of underweight children between two and five years of age, with 36% being underweight and 9.2% being severely underweight.

Aim

To combat malnutrition in women and children, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat, Assam partnered with Institute of Integrated Resources Management (IIRM) in Tezpur to launch this program. The Sonitpur district, along with Dibrugarh, Darrang, and Chirang, has a particularly high rate of underweight children between two and five years of age, with 36% being underweight and 9.2% being severely underweight according to World Health Organization (WHO) standards.

Scope

Developing cost-effective technology for the commercial production of soft rice.
Characterization of product's nutritional value, the time required for softening, and its shelf life.

Outcome

400 tribal women and children from the Sonitpur district of Assam participated in the training. IIRM organized a health camp, and everyone present was provided with komal rice.