National Health Mission (NHM), Nagaland and Vitamin Angels India (VAI) has entered into a partnership to strengthen and expand evidence-based nutrition interventions, specifically vitamin A supplementation and deworming among under-five population.
A Technical Support Group has been created including key officials from NHM and Vitamin Angels India. The demonstration pilot will be undertaken across three districts of Dimapur, Niuland and Chümoukedima in 2024-25. The formative research phase for the pilot is set to take off on-ground by June-July this year. The project is an extension of an ongoing partnership between both parties and uses an implementation science approach to increasing the demand and improving the supply and delivery of vitamin A.
Micronutrient deficiency is a major contributor to childhood morbidity and mortality globally.Vitamin A is an essential nutrient for the immune system, and severe Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) can cause irreversible childhood blindness, reduce immunity and increasechances of mortality frommeasles and diarrhoeal disease. The Government of India recommends that children under five years of age receive nine dosages of vitamin A supplements every six months, starting at nine months.
According to National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5), 2019-21), about 46% of children (9-35 months) received VAS in Nagaland as compared to about 71% at the all-India level.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) believes that while universal coverage (i.e. 100%) is the ultimate goal, however even 80% coverage is an indication of a strong programme.
While Vitamin Angels has been working in partnership with local NGOs since 2011, it formally entered into an MoU with NHM, Nagaland in 2021 with an overall vision to improve child health indicators through a health system strengthening approach.
The non-profit organisation has been providing technical assistance to the state government to strengthen delivery of nutrition interventions. The latest announcement comes as an extension to this ongoing partnership.
Speaking about the partnership, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) state programme officer and NHM joint director DrKhelito Zhimomi claimed that Nagaland had made significant strides in improving nutritional indicators among women and children.
Appreciating the support of Vitamin Angels India, he said the state was keen on working intensively to understand and improve areas it was lagging.
“This is an opportunity for us to address both demand and supply challenges in supplementation. We have offered our full support to the teams on-ground from NHM and VA. We look forward to positive improvements in the time to come,” he stated.
Reiterating the importance of the agreement, Vitamin Angels India’sassociate director of programmes Shruti Menonsaid the organisation had been working in Nagaland since its inception in India and was extremely grateful to the NHM for continuing the longstanding partnership.
She assured that the organisation was determined and invested in improving health and nutrition services till the last-mile.
“What excites us most about this pilot is the buy-in from the state government to co-create solutions by keeping the community/end users at the centre and leveraging a wide range of stakeholders, including NGOs, SHGs, youth and church groups, and other community influencers,” she stated.
Vitamin Angels has been operational in India for over a decade and has reached out to over 16 million children under-5 with vitamin A and Albendazole through a network of 1,800 programme partners, including NGOs, hospitals and health centres. It also supports strengtheningvitamin A supplementation programmes in Tripura, Jammu & Kashmir, Nagaland, Ladakh, Mizoram, Manipur, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Puducherry.