Ajay Sinha - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Ajay Sinha
Ajay Kumar Sinha (left) is the Founder Secretary and Executive Director of FLAIR. He is an expert... more Ajay Kumar Sinha (left) is the Founder Secretary and Executive Director of FLAIR. He is an expert on public policy and public finance. Dolon Bhattacharyya (middle) is an expert on budget analysis and is the Director of Policy, Research and Documentation at FLAIR. Dr Raj Bhandari (right) is a senior paediatrician and technical advisor to various committees on health and nutrition. He has actively collaborated with UNICEF and Government for more than a decade to scale up nutrition programmes in various States of India. He is the chief mentor of FLAIR. FLAIR (Forum for Learning and Action with Innovation and Rigour) is a forum of expert individual researchers and practitioners, as well as organisations, which was formally registered as a Society in June 2013. It draws from the experience and expertise of the founding individuals and organisations. FLAIR creates, nurtures and operates the spaces for learning by organising and/or facilitating consultative processes, seminars, lectures, etc. It works through (a) participation in the processes of policy and programme formulation via research and development of protocols and standardised operating procedures (SOPs) based on a combination of learning from grassroots and inputs from sector and subject experts, (b) programmes in the social development sector that interface with Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
A major gap in India’s capacity to address undernutrition in India is the absence of programmes t... more A major gap in India’s capacity to address undernutrition in India is the absence of programmes to both prevent and treat cases of childhood SAM. Energy dense food that is soft or crushable, palatable and easy for children to eat through community based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) need rapid scaling up in India. Operations research using energy dense food fortified with Type 2 micronutrients (magnesium, phosphorus, sulphur, lysine) is needed. Reductions in stunting are better achieved through interventions such as IYCF micronutrient supplementation for vulnerable children; access to high quality food; health care; safe water sources and basic sanitation. IYCF and CMAM should be conceptualised and planned as two integral parts of a single programme to prevent and treat undernutrition in its range of forms. Quantifying need and determining impact of interventions is critical. However, in India, tracking programme performance over time is compromised by surveys that gather data on different child age groups. For example, CNSM (2012-13) collects data for children under 2 years of age, whilst NFHS 3 (2005-06) and DLHS 4 (2012- 13) collected data for under-fives. DLHS 3 was conducted in almost the same reference period (2007-08) as 33 that of NFHS 3 (2005-06), but DLHS-3 did not give information on any of the three indicators of malnutrition. DLHS 4 and CNSM are also of the same time reference period (2012-13), but the age group of children covered is different. As a result tracking change (improvement or decline) is hugely challenging. Early identification and treatment of wasting may play a role in prevention of stunting in particular contexts. Programmes could be designed and directed to reduce wasting and stunting with preventive food based approaches. Policy, programme and finance should address the issue of wasting and stunting in an integrated way and attempt to bridge the divide between the two categories; it is unfortunate that neither the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) nor the Health Department records length/height of children during growth monitoring promotion (GMP). The continuum of care has to be established and encompass preconception, during conception, natal and post-natal management of small for gestational age (SGA) babies, IYCF, complementary feeding, early detection of severe undernutrition by growth monitoring, disease prevention and treatment and care practices. Improvement in Maternal Health is also a priority action. Mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) standards appropriate for Indian children, should be used in community screening. Considering the high rate of small for gestational age (SGA) and preterm babies, there is an increased risk of children growing with Metabolic Syndrome, which is likely to triple the burden of malnutrition in future generations. Finding solutions to malnutrition requires traversing many pathways and integrating interventions in multiple sectors including agriculture, food distributions, feeding and care practices, disease control, hygiene and sanitation and public health programmes for disease control. In India, these interventions and pathways fall under the portfolios of at least seven different ministries, e.g. Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of WCD, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation. Specific attention to socially marginalised groups comes within the remit of three more separate ministries, i.e. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Ministry of Minority Affairs. This requires a tremendous effort at coordination. Achieving positive nutrition outcomes is therefore contingent upon effective coordination between these ministries. In order for nutrition problems to be addressed effectively, India may well need a Nutrition Mission that has the authority and system to coordinate an integrated approach between the myriad of actors implementing nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programming and holds various stakeholders, including government, to account for actions and inaction.
PROTECTION OF CHILDREN'S RIGHTS IN A DIGITAL SOCIETY, 2019
Policy Paper on Protection of Children's Rights in a Digital Society. This covers issues that chi... more Policy Paper on Protection of Children's Rights in a Digital Society. This covers issues that children face regarding their privacy and safety in the online space. Specifically in the context of Personal Data Protection Bill and United Nations Convention of Rights of the Child.
A major gap in India’s capacity to address undernutrition in India is the absence of programmes t... more A major gap in India’s capacity to address undernutrition in India is the absence of programmes to both prevent
and treat cases of childhood SAM. Energy dense food that is soft or crushable, palatable and easy for children
to eat through community based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) need rapid scaling up in India.
Operations research using energy dense food fortified with Type 2 micronutrients (magnesium, phosphorus,
sulphur, lysine) is needed. Reductions in stunting are better achieved through interventions such as IYCF
micronutrient supplementation for vulnerable children; access to high quality food; health care; safe water
sources and basic sanitation. IYCF and CMAM should be conceptualised and planned as two integral parts of a
single programme to prevent and treat undernutrition in its range of forms.
Quantifying need and determining impact of interventions is critical. However, in India, tracking programme
performance over time is compromised by surveys that gather data on different child age groups. For example,
CNSM (2012-13) collects data for children under 2 years of age, whilst NFHS 3 (2005-06) and DLHS 4 (2012-
13) collected data for under-fives. DLHS 3 was conducted in almost the same reference period (2007-08) as
33
that of NFHS 3 (2005-06), but DLHS-3 did not give information on any of the three indicators of malnutrition.
DLHS 4 and CNSM are also of the same time reference period (2012-13), but the age group of children
covered is different. As a result tracking change (improvement or decline) is hugely challenging.
Early identification and treatment of wasting may play a role in prevention of stunting in particular contexts.
Programmes could be designed and directed to reduce wasting and stunting with preventive food based
approaches. Policy, programme and finance should address the issue of wasting and stunting in an integrated
way and attempt to bridge the divide between the two categories; it is unfortunate that neither the Ministry of
Women and Child Development (WCD) nor the Health Department records length/height of children during
growth monitoring promotion (GMP). The continuum of care has to be established and encompass
preconception, during conception, natal and post-natal management of small for gestational age (SGA) babies,
IYCF, complementary feeding, early detection of severe undernutrition by growth monitoring, disease
prevention and treatment and care practices. Improvement in Maternal Health is also a priority action. Mid
upper arm circumference (MUAC) standards appropriate for Indian children, should be used in community
screening. Considering the high rate of small for gestational age (SGA) and preterm babies, there is an
increased risk of children growing with Metabolic Syndrome, which is likely to triple the burden of malnutrition in
future generations.
Finding solutions to malnutrition requires traversing many pathways and integrating interventions in multiple
sectors including agriculture, food distributions, feeding and care practices, disease control, hygiene and
sanitation and public health programmes for disease control. In India, these interventions and pathways fall
under the portfolios of at least seven different ministries, e.g. Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Food and
Public Distribution, Ministry of WCD, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Water and Sanitation,
Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation. Specific attention to
socially marginalised groups comes within the remit of three more separate ministries, i.e. Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Ministry of Minority Affairs. This requires a tremendous
effort at coordination. Achieving positive nutrition outcomes is therefore contingent upon effective coordination
between these ministries.
In order for nutrition problems to be addressed effectively, India may well need a Nutrition Mission that has the
authority and system to coordinate an integrated approach between the myriad of actors implementing
nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programming and holds various stakeholders, including government, to
account for actions and inaction.
Ajay Kumar Sinha (left) is the Founder Secretary and Executive Director of FLAIR. He is an expert... more Ajay Kumar Sinha (left) is the Founder Secretary and Executive Director of FLAIR. He is an expert on public policy and public finance. Dolon Bhattacharyya (middle) is an expert on budget analysis and is the Director of Policy, Research and Documentation at FLAIR. Dr Raj Bhandari (right) is a senior paediatrician and technical advisor to various committees on health and nutrition. He has actively collaborated with UNICEF and Government for more than a decade to scale up nutrition programmes in various States of India. He is the chief mentor of FLAIR. FLAIR (Forum for Learning and Action with Innovation and Rigour) is a forum of expert individual researchers and practitioners, as well as organisations, which was formally registered as a Society in June 2013. It draws from the experience and expertise of the founding individuals and organisations. FLAIR creates, nurtures and operates the spaces for learning by organising and/or facilitating consultative processes, seminars, lectures, etc. It works through (a) participation in the processes of policy and programme formulation via research and development of protocols and standardised operating procedures (SOPs) based on a combination of learning from grassroots and inputs from sector and subject experts, (b) programmes in the social development sector that interface with Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
A major gap in India’s capacity to address undernutrition in India is the absence of programmes t... more A major gap in India’s capacity to address undernutrition in India is the absence of programmes to both prevent and treat cases of childhood SAM. Energy dense food that is soft or crushable, palatable and easy for children to eat through community based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) need rapid scaling up in India. Operations research using energy dense food fortified with Type 2 micronutrients (magnesium, phosphorus, sulphur, lysine) is needed. Reductions in stunting are better achieved through interventions such as IYCF micronutrient supplementation for vulnerable children; access to high quality food; health care; safe water sources and basic sanitation. IYCF and CMAM should be conceptualised and planned as two integral parts of a single programme to prevent and treat undernutrition in its range of forms. Quantifying need and determining impact of interventions is critical. However, in India, tracking programme performance over time is compromised by surveys that gather data on different child age groups. For example, CNSM (2012-13) collects data for children under 2 years of age, whilst NFHS 3 (2005-06) and DLHS 4 (2012- 13) collected data for under-fives. DLHS 3 was conducted in almost the same reference period (2007-08) as 33 that of NFHS 3 (2005-06), but DLHS-3 did not give information on any of the three indicators of malnutrition. DLHS 4 and CNSM are also of the same time reference period (2012-13), but the age group of children covered is different. As a result tracking change (improvement or decline) is hugely challenging. Early identification and treatment of wasting may play a role in prevention of stunting in particular contexts. Programmes could be designed and directed to reduce wasting and stunting with preventive food based approaches. Policy, programme and finance should address the issue of wasting and stunting in an integrated way and attempt to bridge the divide between the two categories; it is unfortunate that neither the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) nor the Health Department records length/height of children during growth monitoring promotion (GMP). The continuum of care has to be established and encompass preconception, during conception, natal and post-natal management of small for gestational age (SGA) babies, IYCF, complementary feeding, early detection of severe undernutrition by growth monitoring, disease prevention and treatment and care practices. Improvement in Maternal Health is also a priority action. Mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) standards appropriate for Indian children, should be used in community screening. Considering the high rate of small for gestational age (SGA) and preterm babies, there is an increased risk of children growing with Metabolic Syndrome, which is likely to triple the burden of malnutrition in future generations. Finding solutions to malnutrition requires traversing many pathways and integrating interventions in multiple sectors including agriculture, food distributions, feeding and care practices, disease control, hygiene and sanitation and public health programmes for disease control. In India, these interventions and pathways fall under the portfolios of at least seven different ministries, e.g. Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of WCD, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation. Specific attention to socially marginalised groups comes within the remit of three more separate ministries, i.e. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Ministry of Minority Affairs. This requires a tremendous effort at coordination. Achieving positive nutrition outcomes is therefore contingent upon effective coordination between these ministries. In order for nutrition problems to be addressed effectively, India may well need a Nutrition Mission that has the authority and system to coordinate an integrated approach between the myriad of actors implementing nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programming and holds various stakeholders, including government, to account for actions and inaction.
PROTECTION OF CHILDREN'S RIGHTS IN A DIGITAL SOCIETY, 2019
Policy Paper on Protection of Children's Rights in a Digital Society. This covers issues that chi... more Policy Paper on Protection of Children's Rights in a Digital Society. This covers issues that children face regarding their privacy and safety in the online space. Specifically in the context of Personal Data Protection Bill and United Nations Convention of Rights of the Child.
A major gap in India’s capacity to address undernutrition in India is the absence of programmes t... more A major gap in India’s capacity to address undernutrition in India is the absence of programmes to both prevent
and treat cases of childhood SAM. Energy dense food that is soft or crushable, palatable and easy for children
to eat through community based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) need rapid scaling up in India.
Operations research using energy dense food fortified with Type 2 micronutrients (magnesium, phosphorus,
sulphur, lysine) is needed. Reductions in stunting are better achieved through interventions such as IYCF
micronutrient supplementation for vulnerable children; access to high quality food; health care; safe water
sources and basic sanitation. IYCF and CMAM should be conceptualised and planned as two integral parts of a
single programme to prevent and treat undernutrition in its range of forms.
Quantifying need and determining impact of interventions is critical. However, in India, tracking programme
performance over time is compromised by surveys that gather data on different child age groups. For example,
CNSM (2012-13) collects data for children under 2 years of age, whilst NFHS 3 (2005-06) and DLHS 4 (2012-
13) collected data for under-fives. DLHS 3 was conducted in almost the same reference period (2007-08) as
33
that of NFHS 3 (2005-06), but DLHS-3 did not give information on any of the three indicators of malnutrition.
DLHS 4 and CNSM are also of the same time reference period (2012-13), but the age group of children
covered is different. As a result tracking change (improvement or decline) is hugely challenging.
Early identification and treatment of wasting may play a role in prevention of stunting in particular contexts.
Programmes could be designed and directed to reduce wasting and stunting with preventive food based
approaches. Policy, programme and finance should address the issue of wasting and stunting in an integrated
way and attempt to bridge the divide between the two categories; it is unfortunate that neither the Ministry of
Women and Child Development (WCD) nor the Health Department records length/height of children during
growth monitoring promotion (GMP). The continuum of care has to be established and encompass
preconception, during conception, natal and post-natal management of small for gestational age (SGA) babies,
IYCF, complementary feeding, early detection of severe undernutrition by growth monitoring, disease
prevention and treatment and care practices. Improvement in Maternal Health is also a priority action. Mid
upper arm circumference (MUAC) standards appropriate for Indian children, should be used in community
screening. Considering the high rate of small for gestational age (SGA) and preterm babies, there is an
increased risk of children growing with Metabolic Syndrome, which is likely to triple the burden of malnutrition in
future generations.
Finding solutions to malnutrition requires traversing many pathways and integrating interventions in multiple
sectors including agriculture, food distributions, feeding and care practices, disease control, hygiene and
sanitation and public health programmes for disease control. In India, these interventions and pathways fall
under the portfolios of at least seven different ministries, e.g. Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Food and
Public Distribution, Ministry of WCD, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Water and Sanitation,
Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation. Specific attention to
socially marginalised groups comes within the remit of three more separate ministries, i.e. Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Ministry of Minority Affairs. This requires a tremendous
effort at coordination. Achieving positive nutrition outcomes is therefore contingent upon effective coordination
between these ministries.
In order for nutrition problems to be addressed effectively, India may well need a Nutrition Mission that has the
authority and system to coordinate an integrated approach between the myriad of actors implementing
nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programming and holds various stakeholders, including government, to
account for actions and inaction.