Events & Personalities
For better health, nutrition
Nutritional scientist Dr Mahtab Bamji, who works with the Dangoria Charitable Trust (DCT) in Narsapur near Hyderabad, accepted the national award for women’s development through application of science and technology on behalf of the Trust from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. At a function in Delhi on March 8, 2013 Jaipal Reddy, the union minister who heads that department presented the award in the institutional category. It carries a cash component of Rs 10 lakh, Bamji’s sister Mahrukh Joshi informed Parsiana via email.
Bamji, who retired as a director grade scientist from Hyderabad’s National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), is running an extension program of the DCT which addresses problems of health, food, nutrition, environment, etc in villages. The Trust also operates a 20-bed hospital for women and children as well as a highly subsidized home for the aged. Bamji is advising NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) participating in a Sir Dorabji Tata Trust-funded project on nutrition coordinated by the Foundation of Medical Research, Bombay. A batch of tribal women and scientists from Orissa had visited the Narsapur center to learn about the health workers’ program, nutritionally oriented agriculture and sanitation models. Every year participants of certificate courses in nutrition from NIN visit Narsapur to learn how to combat malnutrition with community participation. Bamji is a faculty member for these courses.
The citation for the award mentions that interventions using the 3A approach of "creating awareness and improving access at an affordable cost” have led to a quantifiable impact on maternal and child health. "The organization has pioneered a multi-pronged strategy to address the micronutrient deficiency in the area through a food based approach by enhancing dietary micronutrient, promoting crop diversification and judicious soil nutrient/water management… The mainstay of these interventions had been the adoption of a participatory approach toward improving the quality of life through better health and nutrition.”
Bamji, who retired as a director grade scientist from Hyderabad’s National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), is running an extension program of the DCT which addresses problems of health, food, nutrition, environment, etc in villages. The Trust also operates a 20-bed hospital for women and children as well as a highly subsidized home for the aged. Bamji is advising NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) participating in a Sir Dorabji Tata Trust-funded project on nutrition coordinated by the Foundation of Medical Research, Bombay. A batch of tribal women and scientists from Orissa had visited the Narsapur center to learn about the health workers’ program, nutritionally oriented agriculture and sanitation models. Every year participants of certificate courses in nutrition from NIN visit Narsapur to learn how to combat malnutrition with community participation. Bamji is a faculty member for these courses.
The citation for the award mentions that interventions using the 3A approach of "creating awareness and improving access at an affordable cost” have led to a quantifiable impact on maternal and child health. "The organization has pioneered a multi-pronged strategy to address the micronutrient deficiency in the area through a food based approach by enhancing dietary micronutrient, promoting crop diversification and judicious soil nutrient/water management… The mainstay of these interventions had been the adoption of a participatory approach toward improving the quality of life through better health and nutrition.”
Dr Mahtab Bamji (right) receiving award from Jaipal Reddy
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