Manipur State Rural Livelihoods Mission (MSRLM) launched a pioneering task to provide locally-made nutritious food named “Mama’s Nutrimix” to the hundreds of newborn babies and thousands of children living in the relief camps since the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, leaving more than 70,000 men, women and children displaced from their homes and villages.
Around 12,700 children have been living along with their displaced parents and guardians in around 350 relief camps across the ethnic violence-hit Manipur.
The five-month-long ethnic riot between the non-tribals Meitei and tribal Kuki-Zo communities killed at least 180 people, injured more than 1,120 others while 34 people remained missing.
Since the violence began, the camps in Manipur have seen the birthplace of hundreds of newborn boys and girls.
Initiated by the MSRLM, “Mama’s Nutrimix” is made with easily and locally available ingredients like atta, roasted soybean, roasted chana, milk powder and sugar.
It is a ready-to-eat food that can be mixed directly with lukewarm water and fed to infants and children.
N. Bandana Devi, State Mission Director of MSRLM, explained how the pilot project was taken up.
“While undertaking livelihood activities with the inmates of relief camps across the state, we’ve noticed that there is, in general, dietary deficit of children, particularly infants.”
“While nutrient supplements were provided by the Social Welfare department through its Supplementary Nutrition Programme but complementary infant food was not sufficiently provided while it is very expensive in the market.”
“Hence, in an earnest effort to work towards fulfilling the dietary deficit of infants, MSRLM came up with the idea of an infant complementary food,” Bandana Devi said.
She said “Mama’s Nutrimix” is a ready-to-eat complementary food with high calorific value for infants.
A pilot project initiated by MSRLM with its employees, numbering around 300, contributing their one-day salary amounting to about two lakh rupees to make up for the project cost as well as to provide some essential relief materials whenever they visit the camps across the state.
Bandana Devi added that the infrastructural requirement of the pilot project was provided by the Custom Hiring Centre (CHC) managed by the village level federation of the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) affiliated with MSRLM.
The CHC normally hires out heavy duty tractors, grinders and mixers to farmers and SHGs.
The MSRLM Director added that the caloric requirement of children between 9 to 24 months was carefully ascertained with the help of the nutritionist and experts of State Health Mission that came out with the following stats: “An infant between 9 to 12 months requires 60 gm of Nutrimix per day while infants between 1 to 2 years would need an intake of 70-90 gm of Nutrimix”.
“4,100 kg of the Nutrimix would be the monthly requirement for the total number of infants staying in the relief camps across the state and this would require a budget of Rs 12 lakh to produce it.”
A proposal for the fund requirement for the complementary infant food requirement is submitted to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs by the state government and is hopeful of its approval, she said.
MSRLM’s “Mama’s Nutrimix” pilot project was recently launched by Manipur Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi at the Manipur Trade Centre relief camp at Lamboi Khongnangkhong in Imphal West, where as many as 16 infants were living with their parents.
The relief camp currently lodges 585 inmates, who are mostly from Kangpokpi, Kakching, Churachandpur and Bishnupur districts.
(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)
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