Nutritional Deficiencies In North-East India: A Weak Shield

Nutritional Deficiencies In North-East India: A Weak Shield Against The Virus?


Chandra Sekhar Kundu serves a wholesome meal to children
Sandipan Chatterjee/Outlook
Nutritional Deficiencies In North-East India: A Weak Shield Against The Virus?
The strength of north-eastern states lies in active community support for better outreach and information dissemination efforts and following an inter-sectoral approach.
The Global Hunger Index (2020) has ranked India in ‘serious’ category with 94 rank out of 107 countries, much behind Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Undernutrition is associated with 45% of children’s deaths in the world. It may be manifested by stunting, wasting, underweight and deficiencies of vitamins and minerals. This is a consequence of insufficient consumption of vitamins and minerals. Even though they are required in small amounts, absence of it can lead to long-term health impacts such as, reduction in energy level, mental clarity and cognitive abilities which could have socio-economic impacts on overall development. So far, Zinc, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin D have been strongly associated with immunity keeping the virus away. Further, it prevents anaemia which again plays a central role in fighting fatigue. Also, Vitamin B12 is required for formation of the blood and nerves.Being the first and largest nutritional survey in India, Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey has collected data on micronutrient deficiencies. The data did not show an impressive picture on that front and the burden has been amplified as shown with recent National Family Healthy Survey-5. The COVID pandemic has brought much required focus on nutrition, in general and nutrient specific deficiencies in particular, especially after a few studies which started showing correlation of COVID positive patients and micronutrient deficiency, such as Zinc and Vitamin D. Nutrition plays an extremely crucial role in reducing the severity and susceptibility to every virus, in this case the COVID. Dr. Hemalatha, Director, ICMR-NIN has noted that these micronutrients play synergistic roles in supporting immunity, and are required in adequate amounts to scavenge toxins and modulate inflammation during infection. As we await vaccine into mainstream, addressing nutritional challenges will become crucial for a healthy response, even to prevent the pandemics in the future.

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