Context
Nutrition advice is a simple yet effective method, as demonstrated recently in the Bemetara district of Chhattisgarh.
 
Recognizing Nutritional Counselling  
·                 Simple Solutions, Big Impact: Simplicity frequently leads to sophistication, and coaching people on healthy eating and feeding practises can be quite helpful in tackling malnutrition.
·                 Government Efforts: The government has made strides in food security by providing mid-day meals in schools and distributing rations to the general populace. Nutritional supplements are distributed through a variety of state-specific programmes.
·                 Nutrition Counselling is required: While awareness campaigns are available through programmes such as POSHAN Abhiyaan, nutrition counselling has not been consistently applied. To close this gap, proper training and widespread use of nutrition counselling are required.
 
The Bemetara Model 
·                 Malnutrition Paradox: Despite its agricultural wealth, Bemetara, a reasonably affluent area in Chhattisgarh, suffers from severe acute malnutrition. This emphasises the need of having correct knowledge about feeding practises.
·                 Laika Potth Abhiyaan: In Bemetara, a nutrition counselling programme known as "Potth Laika Abhiyaan" has been established in 72 severely impacted Anganwadi Centres (AWCs). Ground-level nutrition counselling personnel teaches parents on balanced diets, hygiene, and debunks nutritional fallacies.
·                 Positive Results: In nine months, this programme improved malnutrition among targeted children by 53.77%. Monitoring and assessment were critical in making this a low-cost solution.
 
Statistical Outcome Comparison  
·                 Within nine months (December 2022 to July 2023), the Potth Laika Abhiyaan effectively brought 53.77% of targeted children out of malnutrition, totalling 599 out of 1,114 children.
·                 Specifically, 61.5% of children with Medium Acute Malnutrition (MAM) and 14.67% of children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) were brought out of malnutrition.
·                 In comparison, only 30.6% of children were saved from malnutrition in a control group of 20 Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) where the mission was not conducted. This contains 33.8% of MAM kids but no SAM kids.
·                 When compared to the control group, the Potth Laika Abhiyaan improved malnutrition recovery by 23%.  
·                 Notably, the mission is cost-effective, necessitating minimum expenditures for training and regular monitoring, as opposed to supplying meals, which necessitates budgeting and the danger of leakage.

Coclusion 
The Potth Laika Abhiyaan's success highlights the need of nutrition coaching in combating malnutrition. It is critical to combine food distribution programmes with nutrition coaching and monitoring to speed the eradication of malnutrition. Replicating this strategy on a bigger scale across districts and states can help India achieve its aim of being a "Kuposhan Mukt Bharat" (Malnutrition-free India).
 
LTX Mains Question
Q. Examine the role of nutrition advice in combating malnutrition in India. Highlight the success of the Potth Laika Abhiyaan model and provide strategies for its widespread application.