city anchor: Sassoon sets up nutrition centre for malnourished kids

A year-old Sarang (name changed) from Warje Malwadi weighs only 4.25 kg, has a large head and is ailing with a congenital heart disease.

Richa (name changed) from Nana Peth, at nine months weighs a mere 5.4 kg and is suffering from megaloblastic anaemia apart from vitamin B-12 and folic acid deficiencies.

These are just two of the severely marlnourished children from economically deprived families in the city. Though their parents try to get primary treatment for their ailments, little thought is given to the nutritional deficiencies that aggravate their malnourished condition. To bridge that gap, government run B J Medical College and Sassoon general hospital has — in a first — set up a Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) for children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM).

Not only will the centre identify SAM children from among those at the paediatric Out Patient Department, but it has also chalked out a structured programme for the development of the child during its 12-21 day stay. A special diet that combines proteins and calorie-rich food will be prepared at the centre and the child will be provided six to eight feeds, says Dr Aarti Kinikar, in charge of the NRC.

An assessment of the children visiting the paediatric OPD last month showed that out of 300 such cases, at least 50-60 suffered from varying degrees of malnutrition. Most suffer from illnesses like HIV, respiratory and other chronic disorders, said Kinikar, adding that the patients come from various parts of the city as well as the state. "What we realised is that the baby's nutrition is never considered. A majority of the patients are from poor families. Hence, the focus was on setting up a nutrition rehabilitation centre where the child would be looked after and mother would be counselled on the right foods to be given," said Kinikar.

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