Women’s control over food brings nutritional equity in Odisha’s KBK region

Pramila Behera, 27, of Pengdusi village in Thuamul Rampur block of Odisha’s Kalahandi district has started her nutrition garden over two decimal of land beside her house. The small garden offers her the freedom to decide what kind of food items she is going to offer to her husband, daughters and son. 

Though the idea of nutrition garden is quite like a traditional kitchen garden. But, the difference here is that Pramila grows a wide range of vegetables, legumes and leaves in her nutrition garden so that it can give her control over food and fulfil the micronutrient needs of her family.

Malkangiri child deaths: disease or malnourishment?

The large number of children dying in Malkangiri district of Odisha has been officially attributed to Japanese Encephalitis and malaria but villagers and civil society organisations say that malnourishment has contributed to these avoidable deaths

“Following vomiting and symptoms that made my 3-year-old daughter, Julie, feel uneasy, we took her to the district headquarter hospital in Malkangiri. We never knew that it was her final departure from the village. She succumbed to a new disease that the doctors said was Japanese fever (Japanese Encephalitis),” says Chumudi Madkami of Palkonda village while holding her visibly weak one-year-old son Aditya.

Malnutrition continues to be a threat 70 years after independence

Even though it's the fastest growing economy in the world, malnutrition in India still kills millions each year. This issue became even more stark when 19 tribal children died in a single village.

Did Dana Majhi's wife die of hunger, malnourishment?

Questions that linger about death of Dana Majhi's wife are whether this is another case of death due to malnutrition and hunger? Did the hospital authorities knowingly admitted her in the TB ward to show it as a death due to TB and to hide the real reasons that would expose bigger failures of the Odisha government