Adani Wilmar's CSR project helps improve nutrition levels of children in 239 villages

Edible oil major Adani Wilmar Ltd on Thursday said its Fortune SuPoshan project has helped in a significant reduction in malnutrition among children in 239 villages across seven states. All 239 villages where the project was operational in the first phase have shown a significant reduction in all three malnutrition indicators -- severe acute malnourishment, moderate acute malnourishment, and underweight -- for children aged 0-5.

Edible oil major Adani Wilmar Ltd on Thursday said its Fortune SuPoshan project has helped in a significant reduction in malnutrition among children in 239 villages across seven states. Adani Wilmar sells its edible oils and other food products under the Fortune brand. The project aims to tackle malnourishment by improving nutrition levels among young children, the company said in a statement. Adani Wilmar said the project has been highly successful and contributed to a significant reduction in malnutrition indicators, as per an assessment report of the project. Launched in May 2016, the Fortune SuPoshan project was executed on the ground by Adani Foundation, the CSR arm of Adani Group. The project was operational in ten sites Mundra, Hazira, Dahej, Kawai, Shimla, Tirora, Sarguja, Vinzhinjam, Kamuthi and Bitta across seven states --Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. The project will continue its operation at its existing sites by reaching the target group 0-5 age children, adolescent girls, and women of reproductive age. All 239 villages where the project was operational in the first phase have shown a significant reduction in all three malnutrition indicators -- severe acute malnourishment, moderate acute malnourishment, and underweight -- for children aged 0-5. In 2016, the average severe acute malnourishment, moderate acute malnourishment, and underweight levels across the 10 site districts were 8.62 per cent, 15.78 per cent, and 34.3 per cent among children aged up to five, as per National Family Health Survey (NFHS 4) data. After four years of intervention through this project, the levels at the 10 sites fell to 4.1 per cent, 1.3 per cent, and 2.7 per cent, respectively. "It is most gratifying to see the significant impact the Fortune SuPoshan project has had in improving nutrition levels among young children across its sites. The project has been expanded to more sites now, and Adani Wilmar is committed to contributing to make India a healthy country," said Angshu Mallick, MD and CEO, Adani Wilmar. The project adopted a multi-stakeholder approach, including the Ministry of Women and Child Development's Poshan Abhiyaan, Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and National Nutrition Mission. It involved the local panchayats, district administration, schools, other NGOs, Anganwadi centres, local health centres and others for maximum impact.

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