皇家华人

An innovative programme that combines community engagement with research across three UCL faculties is designing interventions to tackle child malnutrition in India.

A听programme of participatory听interdisciplinary听research听to tackle malnutrition听(PANChSHEEEL*) brings together听schools, front line health workers听and communities in two villages in India听with听academics听from听UCL鈥檚听Great Ormond Street Hospital听Institute for Child Health听(ICH), Institute of Education听(IOE)听and听UCL听Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering听(CEGE).听

鈥淎 recent survey听in India听showed that听only one in ten children aged 6 to 23 months receives听a nutritionally adequate diet听and undernutrition contributes to almost half of deaths in the under-fives,鈥澨齟xplains Professor Monica听Lakhanpaul听(UCL听ICH), project lead.听听

In 2017, with support听from听UCL鈥檚 Global听Engagement听Office,听Professor听Lakhanpaul听visited India听with听colleagues听Dr听Priti Parikh (CEGE) and听Professor听Marie-Carine听Lall (IOE). They听set out to build听partnerships with community organisations and听institutions to听develop听an integrated approach that looks at feeding practices in a wider context.听

鈥淭o address what some refer to as India鈥檚 silent epidemic, we needed听to听consider听nutrition, sanitation,听hygiene听and parent-child interactions听in the first 1,000 days of life,鈥澨齈rofessor听Lakhanpaul听explains.听听

Since听then,听the UCL team has听been working closely听with听colleagues at听the听Indian Institute of Technology,听Delhi,听Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi,听Save the Children India听and听community organisations听and schools听in Rajasthan.听听

They听assessed the environmental and engineering factors affecting nutrition听and听found that clean water,听safe sanitation systems, clean kitchen utensils and availability of soap听have听a vital role to play.听鈥淲e also found that other key factors such as mothers having adequate听time听for childcare, and听consideration of other infection risks,听such as family animals was also necessary,鈥� says Professor听Lakhanpaul.听听

鈥淭ogether听with听our听partners in India听we developed听integrated听interventions that link health, education, environment and engineering, to optimise infant and young child feeding听practices.鈥澨�

The collaborative team听trains听community champions to engage with their communities, via schools听and听rural healthcare centres to ensure听proposed听interventions听are听acceptable to the听people听they are听designed听to help.听听

鈥淧ANChSHEEEL鈥痯rovides a听vital听platform to link expertise across diverse disciplines,鈥� adds Professor听Lakhanpaul.听鈥淚t听enables听us to hear local voices and develop solutions together to address global challenges with global partners.鈥澨�

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