Madhya Pradesh: How District Collector Avi Prasad’s fight against malnutrition is saving lives in Katni

Malnutrition is a common factor when it comes to families living in adverse poverty, and has afflicted many parts of the country so far. Taking a step in the right direction, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer in Madhya Pradesh is fighting against the issue of malnutrition.

IAS officer Avi Prasad, who is the District Collector of Katni in Madhya Pradesh, has launched a new initiative in an effort to save children who have been suffering through malnutrition in the city, providing them with proper food and better living conditions.

Katni District Collector Avi Prasad decided to launch this new initiative when he met Sakshi, a one-year-old girl who was at the Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) level. Due to the lack of a proper diet, Sakshi developed several medical conditions.

Avi Prasad immediately instructed the officers of the Health Department and Department of Women and Child Welfare to ensure the medical checkups of the child. His sensitive and quick efforts resulted in the health team visiting Sakshi, after which she was immediately admitted to the District Hospital in Katni.

Taking note of the delicate condition of the girl child, the IAS officer decided to visit the District Hospital himself the next day to oversee how Sakshi is being nursed back to health. Not only this, but he also asked Manish Gai, an eminent industrialist of the district to adopt Sakshi and help her parents with her further medical treatment.

The Katni Collector’s heart-touching efforts to save the life of the one-year-old girl did not go to waste, as she was shortly nursed back to health, with her parents thanking Avi Prasad for his quick efforts and prompt action for medical treatment.

After this incident, Avi Prasad decided to engage the community action to combat malnutrition, especially in children with medical complications. He appealed to the public of Katni to adopt malnutrition children in the district in an effort to provide them with proper care and eradicate the problem, under the Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) program.

IMAM is an integrated program of the Madhya Pradesh government to fight against malnutrition, under which several parameters have been set for the administration and the community through which they can help fight the issue of malnutrition in children.

A significant component of the IMAM program is community mobilization. To implement this component effectively, the government encourages people from the local community to adopt malnourished children.

Under the IMAM program malnutrition is defined as weight for height Z score (WHZ) of children in the age group of 6 to 59 months. Based on the WHZ malnutrition is measured and categorized as Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM), and normal.

Under this effort of the government, children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) are referred to Nutrition Rehabilitation Centers and provided with a special diet and frequent home visits apart from aid for their parents to nursing their child back to health.

Taking inspiration from District Collector Avi Prasad, an autorickshaw driver in Katni named Deepak Chaudhary decided to adopt Kiran, a 10-month-old malnutrition girl who had been suffering from several health implications and decided to nurse her back to health.

Due to the efforts of IAS officer Avi Prasad and the efforts made under the IMAM program in Madhya Pradesh, 111 out of the total 211 identified severely malnutrition children in Katni have been adopted by people from different economical backgrounds, giving a perfect example of the community coming together.

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