Covid-19 and the irreversible marks undernutrition will leave in its wake (Poshan Outlook)

Poshan Outlook (India) published an op-ed by Poverty, Heath, and Nutrition Division Director Marie Ruel and Senior Research Fellow, Jef Leroy that stated one of the key objectives of India’s Covid-19 mitigation efforts is to prevent child undernutrition now rather than to treat it later, without compromising on maternal, child health and nutrition services. What started as a health crisis has developed into a severe economic crisis which disproportionately affects the poor. The rise in child wasting and associated mortality, while devastating, is just a sliver of the damage being done. The consequences of the pandemic-fueled food and nutrition crisis will run much deeper. Leroy and Ruel offer solutions including social protections like cash transfers, essential maternal and child health and nutrition services, and counseling about nutritious foods & diets.