title: Impact of integrated child development scheme on child malnutrition in West Bengal, India.
abstract: With child malnutrition detected as a persistent problem in most of the developing countries, public policy has been directed towards offering community-based supplementary feeding provision and nutritional information to caregivers. India, being no exception, has initiated these programs as early as 1970s under integrated child development scheme. Using propensity score matching technique on primary data of 390 households in two districts of West Bengal, an Eastern state in India, the study finds that impact of being included in the program and receiving supplementary feeding is insignificant on child stunting measures, though the program can break the intractable barriers of child stunting only when the child successfully receives not only just the supplementary feeding but also his caregiver collects crucial information on nutritional awareness and growth trajectory of the child. Availability of regular eggs in the feeding diet too can reduce protein-related undernutrition. Focusing on just feeding means low depth of other services offered under integrated child development scheme, including pre-school education, nutritional awareness, and hygiene behavior; thus repealing a part of the apparent food-secure population who puts far more importance on the latter services.
authors: Department of Economics 56 A, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors: Arijita
authors: A
authors: Dutta
authors: Department of Economics, Scottish Church College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
authors: Smritikana
authors: S
authors: Ghosh
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003906:Developing Countries; D004032:Diet; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D063105:Food Assistance; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D009752:Nutritional Status; D057216:Propensity Score
chemical_list: D004044:Dietary Proteins
keywords: child malnutrition; impact evaluation; integrated child development scheme, West Bengal, India; nutritional awareness; supplementary nutrition program