Author: Charulatha Banerjee
Improving maternal nutrition in Karnataka State, India
ENN’s Charulatha Banerjee talks to Uma Mahadevan, the previous Principal Secretary, Women & Child Development in the Government of Karnataka, about the Mathrupoorna programme. The intervention combines a mid-day meal, health services and peer support to strengthen maternal nutrition.
Reflections from 6th Annual Scientific Symposium on Agriculture- Nutrition Pathways
My winter began in Kathmandu last week where I attended the 6th Annual Scientific Symposium on Agriculture- Nutrition Pathways organised by Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Nutrition. I have attended the Annual event 3 years in a row and this year was extra special as the event also was celebrating 25 years of Nepal’s Progress in Nutrition. What makes this event unique is that it attracts students and young researchers in equal numbers as persons from academia, policy makers and programme implementors in the field of agriculture- nutrition research relevant to Nepal.
FEX 58: Integrated SAM Treatment in India
ENN’s Regional Knowledge Management Specialist for Asia, Dr. Charulatha Banerjee, speaks to Grana Pu Selvi, World Vision India and author of the article in Field Exchange Issue 58 titled Treatment of severe acute malnutrition through the Integrated Child Development Scheme in Jharkand State, India.
Grana shares the difficulties faced in setting up the project and what has been learnt from the experience for implementation ahead. We also briefly speak with Mahesh Nathan from the WASH team of World Vision. Mahesh outlined the organisation’s approaches to including WASH interventions in projects to improve nutrition outcomes.
Privilégier la nutrition maternelle en Asie du Sud – Réflexions lors d’une conférence régionale
Plus tôt ce mois-ci, j'ai assisté à une conférence organisée conjointement par l'Association sud-asiatique de coopération régionale (SAARC), le Bureau régional de l'UNICEF pour l'Asie du Sud (ROSA) ainsi que Nutrition International afin de débattre et d’identifier quelles actions pourraient permettre d’accélérer les soins nutritionnels des femmes durant leur grossesse et après l’accouchement en Asie du Sud. Des représentants des huit pays de la SAACR ont participé à la conférence, chacun ayant envoyé des hauts fonctionnaires représentant leurs gouvernements respectifs, ce qui est peut-être un gage de l’importance donnée à ce problème dans la région.
Prioritising Maternal Nutrition in South Asia - Reflections from a regional conference
Earlier this month, I attended a meeting organised jointly by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia (ROSA) together with Nutrition International to discuss and identify actions to accelerate the nutritional care of women during pregnancy and postpartum in South Asia. The meeting was attended by representatives from all 8 SAARC countries with all countries sending high level officials from Governments perhaps indicative of the importance of the issue in the region.
Civil Society Alliances and Nutrition – Opportunities & Challenges
The SUN Civil Society Network (SUNCSN) has as we speak 2500 member organisations organised as National Civil Society Alliances (CSA) spread across 39 countries globally.
In mid-July, I attended the SUN Civil Society Regional Learning Exchange – Asia co-organised by Global SUN CSN Secretariat and the Civil Society Alliance for Nutrition, Nepal (CSANN) in Kathmandu.
Retard de croissance & Emaciation en Asie du Sud - Réflexions depuis une conférence régionale
Au fil des années, la portée du travail d'ENN s'est étendue au-delà de l'accent mis initialement sur les contextes humanitaires pour englober un ensemble plus large de problèmes liés à l’émaciation et au retard de croissance dans des contextes d'urgence et/ou des contextes où la prévalence est élevée. Nous sommes de plus en plus intéressés par l'évolution de la politique et de l'environnement de programmation autour du traitement et de la prévention de la malnutrition. ENN est actuellement engagé dans l'exploration de la relation entre l’émaciation et le retard de croissance (voir le récent billet de Carmel Dolan sur le blog ici), le retard de croissance dans les situations d'urgence, et la façon dont les initiatives ciblées sur le retard de croissance et l’émaciation interagissent dans la pratique.
Stunting & Wasting in South Asia- Reflections from a Regional conference
Over the years the scope of ENN’s work has expanded beyond a focus on humanitarian contexts to encompass a broader set of issues around drivers of wasting and stunting in both high burden and emergency contexts. We are also increasingly interested in the evolving policy and programming environment around malnutrition treatment and prevention. ENN is currently engaged in exploring the relationship between wasting and stunting (see the recent blog piece by Carmel Dolan here), stunting in emergencies, and on how stunting or wasting focused initiatives interact in practice.
Notes de Myanmar – une visite conjointe d’ENN and de Nutrition International
J'ai débuté en avril avec une visite d'une semaine au Myanmar; il s’agissait de ma première visite en tant que spécialiste régionale de la gestion des connaissances pour ENN. Myanmar et sa « première citoyenne », la prix Nobel de la paix, Aung San Suu Kyi, faisaient cette semaine-là l’objet d’une couverture médiatique importante pour des affaires litigieuses. Je suis cependant repartie, encouragée par le fait que ce pays, et son jeune gouvernement, avance dans la bonne direction pour améliorer l'état nutritionnel de sa population. Pour cette visite, j'ai accompagné Manpreet Kaur Chadha, qui est la responsable régionale pour l’Asie du programme TAN (Assistance Technique pour la Nutrition) de Nutrition International [NI] (anciennement Micronutrient Initiative) dont la mission est d’identifier les besoins d'assistance technique en matière de nutrition dans le pays. Financé par le ministère britannique du développement international (DFID), c’est ce même programme TAN qui comprend à la fois la gestion des connaissances par l’ENN et l’assistance technique par NI pour tous les pays membres du mouvement SUN.
Notes from Myanmar - an ENN and Nutrition International joint visit
I began April with a weeklong visit to Myanmar, not my first visit but the first in my role as KM Specialist with ENN. Myanmar and its “first citizen” of sorts, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Aung San Syu Kyi were in the news in the same week on contentious issues. However, I returned home encouraged that this country, with its year-old government, is taking all the right first steps to improving the nutrition status of its population. For this visit I accompanied Manpreet Kaur Chadha the Nutrition International (formerly the Micronutrient Initiative) Asia Regional Manager for the TAN programme on her mission to identify nutrition technical assistance needs in the country. The TAN programme is the DFID funded package of support under which ENN provides knowledge management and NI technical assistance support to SUN countries.
Nutrition in Jharkhand - A new beginning
Greetings! I am Dr Charulatha Banerjee, one of ENN’s Regional KM specialists working in Asia.
On the 9th of January I visited the Indian state of Jharkhand to meet stakeholders working in nutrition. Jharkhand is a very recent “member state” of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, joining in September 2016, it is the 3rd Indian state to sign on to this global initiative. Jharkhand joins the states of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, and 58 national governments in Asia, Africa and Latin America that have committed to working towards reducing their high burden of malnutrition.