IMPHAL: To address the dietary needs of infants stuck in ethnic riot relief camps, the Manipur government has launched Mama’s Nutrimix, a ready-to-eat complementary food.
The Nutrimix was handed out to 16 infants at the Manipur Trade and Centre Relief Camp in Lamboi Khongnangkhong, Imphal West on Thursday. The camp currently houses 585 inmates, mostly from Kangpokpi, Kakching, Churachandpur, and Bishnupur districts.
Chief Secretary Dr. Vineet Joshi launched the Nutrimix at the event, where he interacted with inmates and children. He said that the Manipur State Rural Livelihoods Mission (MSRLM) plans to distribute the complementary baby food to 12,000 infants aged 9-24 months in relief camps across the state. He also praised MSRLM for its initiative and appealed to self-help groups to come up with similar products.
MSRLM State Mission Director N. Bandana Devi explained that the pilot project was initiated after noticing a dietary deficit among children, particularly infants, in relief camps. She said that while nutrient supplements were provided by the Social Welfare department, complementary infant food was not sufficiently available as it is expensive in the market.
Mama’s Nutrimix is made with easily available ingredients like atta, roasted soybean, roasted chana, milk powder, and sugar. It is a ready-to-eat food that can be mixed directly with lukewarm water and fed to infants.
The pilot project was funded by MSRLM employees, who contributed one day’s salary amounting to Rs. 2 lakhs. The infrastructural requirement was provided by the Custom Hiring Centre (CHC) managed by the village level federation of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) affiliated with MSRLM.
The launch event was also attended by Additional Chief Secretary MH Khan, Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare Pradeep Kumar Jha, Deputy Commissioner of Imphal West Th. Kirankumar Singh, MSRLM State Mission Director N. Bandana Devi, National Health Mission State Mission Director Dr. Somorjit Ningombam, and Rotary Club of Imphal & MS RIMS President Dr. Sanjib Singh Nepram.
During the event, the Imphal West district administration in collaboration with the State Agriculture and Horticulture departments also distributed winter crop seeds like cauliflower, peas, mustard, onion, and potatoes to inmates of relief camps who wanted to engage in kitchen gardening.
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