Bangalore: Herbalife International India Pvt Ltd, a leading global nutrition company today announced a one-year partnership with Global Health Strategies Institute (GHSI) to improve the nutrition of over 10,000 children aged 5-12 years in the country, in line with the policies of the Government of India.

The Government-run Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDM) and the School Health Programme (SHP) are designed to improve the nutritional needs of the children by providing them food supplemented with adequate quantities of micronutrients such as Iron, Folic Acid & Zinc.

In the first phase of the project, GHSI will conduct a landscape analysis. This analysis will help all parties understand the nutritional landscape, provide insights into the required nutritional support, the target beneficiaries, expected reach, implementation model and potential partners in the first phase of the study. The states covered under the landscape analysis are Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Based on the recommendations, GHSI will work with DSM, a global supplier of vitamins, carotenoids, nutritional lipids and premixes to the food and pharmaceutical industries; to help determine the appropriate micronutrients intervention for the identified states. Herbalife and GHSI will work closely to ensure smooth on ground implementation of the project under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) or the School Health Programme (SHP) programme.

Speaking on this partnership, Ajay Khanna, Vice President and Country Head, Herbalife International India Pvt Ltd said, “Herbalife India is committed to improve the nutritional habits of people in India. Nutrition is an important building block for proper physical and cognitive development in children. We are proud to be working in partnership with GHSI to address the immediate nutrient needs of thousands of children, while simultaneously exploring long-term, sustainable approaches to address the underlying causes of malnutrition in India. Our partnership with GHSI will help us make a positive difference in society and take us closer to our vision of spreading good nutrition to communities and building India as a healthy and active country.”

Speaking on this project, Anjali Nayyar, Senior Vice President, Global Health Strategies Institute said, “Addressing the nutritional needs of children is critical in India. While this project will be implemented in 1 pilot state, we strongly believe this will  be a giant step in ensuring every child in India has the right to good health .We are delighted to partner with Herbalife on this critical issue.”

Speaking on this association, B. Rajagopal, Country President, DSM India said, “DSM is committed to contribute to this holistic approach to improve nutrition among children. The initiative is a positive intervention in their early lives when it is most beneficial and will help address the serious problem of malnutrition in India.”