India has some of the world's highest rates of stunting and wasting among young children, as well as anaemia in women of reproductive age, which experts say is "pretty bad" in a country that ranks 101st out of 116 countries on the Global Hunger Index in 2023, the New Indian Express reports.
Dr. Sapna Poti, director of strategic alliances at the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, says that "it is not just people from low socio-economic backgrounds that are affected but the ones from affluent backgrounds too."
So the country has launched the Poshan Innovation Platform, a collaborative incubator for innovations in maternal and child health.
Experts say that innovations are largely tech-driven and focused on urban areas, ignoring accessibility at the last mile in most cases.
"Most initiatives end up being 'cute experiments' as they do not move beyond the laboratories due to a lack of mentorship or financial support," Dr. Smriti Pahwa of the India Nutrition Collaborative says.
"This platform will help evaluate scalable innovations which will also build their credibility," she adds.
The platform plans to focus on gender equity, digital equity, market equity, and promoting nutrition-seeking behavior.
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