In Conversation With Anand Kadali

1. Could you share the vision behind the Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust and elaborate on its mission?

The vision of Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust is ‘Let no child go to school hungry ever!’

The Annapoorna Morning Nutrition Programme signifies its intent to offer wholesome nutritious breakfast to school-going children, to bring back the balance in ‘food security’ and ensure ‘right to food’ for every child in India.

Our mission is to ensure that school-going children receive the most important nutrition for the day in the morning, through a multi-nutrient health drink or breakfast meals, so that the essential nutrition intake for their physical and cognitive development, is taken care of every day consistently.

The flagship initiative of the Annapoorna Trust is to tackle the problem of ‘hidden hunger’, by the provisioning of a micronutrient rich health mix.

2.      What have been the most striking challenges faced by the Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust, and how were they navigated?

The scale of child malnutrition in rural India is so vast, and hence reaching some of the remote and underserved areas of Indian States was extremely difficult considering the rugged terrain, and almost nil means of transport, making the logistics a tedious one.

Securing sustained funding and resources to support the expansion of the programme was another challenge.

In order to navigate these challenges, we focused on building strong partnerships with State Governments, Corporates for their CSR initiatives, and local communities.

We have managed to expand our reach by leveraging technology for efficient programme management and engaging continuously with our stakeholders.

3.      Can you explain the SaiSure Multinutrient Supplement Program and its significance in meeting the nutritional needs of vulnerable groups at no cost?

The SaiSure Multinutrient Supplement is a millet or malt-based supplement that has been specially conceived with scientific inputs by a panel of specialist doctors, nutritionists and experts in public health, keeping in mind the demands of vital macronutrients and micronutrients for growing children. By fortifying malt and ragi based multi-millets powder with a rich blend of essential vitamins and minerals, this supplement promotes development in children. 

Two of the notable features of this supplement are that sugar has been replaced with jaggery, and millets have been used extensively in the formulations. The malt-based supplement is mixed with hot milk or milk powder; and the millet-based supplement is mixed with hot water and jaggery.

The goal is to ensure every child gets 40-60 per cent of the key micronutrients in one serving.

The SaiSure manufacturing facility – SaiSure Nutraceuticals LLP is a FSSAI-approved manufacturing facility with the highest quality standards. The compositions have been approved by CFTRI, Mysore and the State Food Laboratory, Bengaluru.

This micronutrient rich supplement directly addresses the issue of ‘hidden hunger’, which is often overlooked, but has severe implications on a child's health, cognitive abilities, and overall development.

4.      How does the Annapoorna Morning Nutrition Programme address child malnutrition, and what impact has it had on the lives of children across India?

The Annapoorna Morning Nutrition Programme addresses child malnutrition at the grassroots level by serving school-going children at over 143,130 Government schools in India. Most of these children come from impoverished backgrounds, under circumstances that force parents to leave for work early in the morning, leaving the children with little scope for starting their day with a healthy breakfast.

Every child has the right to his/her share of a wholesome nutritious diet, so that he/she grows well in a sound body and learns well with a sound mind. With this lofty idea in mind, the Annapoorna Morning Nutrition Programme started by serving 50 children in the year 2012, and has covered 10 million children today, across 25 States and 4 Union Territories of India.

The Annapoorna Team has identified demonstrable positive effects on children who were previously undernourished.

·         Cognitive function of these children in terms of their attention span, memory, reaction time, and executive function improved

·         Academic performance improved in terms of better school grades and achievement test scores, especially in mathematics and sciences

·         Absenteeism from school has reduced and attendance has improved

·         On-task behaviour of children in terms of their adherence to school rules, discipline, and appropriate behaviour in a learning situation improved

Impact Figures

      From 50 children in 2012 to 10 million children in 2024

      1 billion morning nutrition servings

      Served across 143,139 Schools and Anganwadis at 25 States and 4 Union territories in India

      5,000 children in 5 overseas countries

5.      What initiatives and approaches have been implemented by the Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust to tackle malnutrition and related issues?

·         Tackling hidden hunger through SaiSure multi-nutrient supplement, which has been scientifically formulated to address malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in children

·         Setting up of SaiSure Nutraceutical Manufacturing Facility that has the capacity to produce 750 tons of SaiSure every month

·         Partnerships with Local Farmers: Sourcing ingredients directly from the local farmers ensures that the quality of ragi and other millets is of the best grade, predominantly grown through organic means of farming. This also supports the local farmers in their economic growth

Related Issues

Alongside nutrition, the Trust has also been working in the areas of education, healthcare, and clean drinking water facilities.

      Education: The Annapoorna Trust has identified students from impoverished backgrounds and integrated them into the Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva Gurukulam Group of Institutions, which is operated by its Sister Trust. These institutions are a chain of completely free of charge residential schools from Grade 6 to Higher Education including Doctorate Programmes, and also free medical education (MBBS, Nursing and Allied Health Sciences).

Regular awareness sessions on nutrition, diet, and health are conducted at the village communities for children, parents, and elders to help them help themselves.

      SAIWHEELS (Societal Advancement and Improvement by Water, Healthcare, Educare, Energy, Love, and Service):

This is a special bus that has been developed by the Annapoorna Trust to provide free healthcare, education, energy, and clean drinking water to rural poor and remote village communities in India. Powered by solar energy with a battery backup option and equipped with the latest medical devices and applications, the bus also hosts a functional classroom, mobile library, hands-on science lab, a few computer stations, and a high-definition TV monitor that provides access to online educational media. The bus travels to Government schools and helps children expose themselves to an array of exciting learning tools. It also travels to villages to conduct free health screening.

      Healthcare:

The Annapoorna Trust identifies children who need medical care and refers them to the multi-speciality hospitals run by its Sister Trust. Children suffering from any kind of heart ailment are referred to the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Child Heart Care Centres. These healthcare centres offer treatment completely free of charge.

      Clean Drinking Water Facilities:

Setting up of simple and cost-effective RO water plants with bio-sand filters has taken care of the requirement of clean drinking water in the villages. Every family in the village is given a smart card to help them access clean drinking water from the plant, and they are also taught the importance of water conservation. A smart card enables the family to fetch 20 litres of potable water every day. The villagers have observed that there is a tremendous decrease in the number of waterborne diseases in their villages, after they had access to clean drinking water. 

120,000 villagers have benefitted by the clean drinking water facilities.

 Apart from the above, health screening programmes and sanitation projects are also undertaken by the Annapoorna Trust in some of the villages, based on the need.

6.      What key collaborations and partnerships have significantly expanded the reach and impact of the Trust’s nutrition programmes?

Our key collaborations with the State governments, such as Karnataka and Telangana, have been instrumental in scaling up our programmes. Additionally, partnerships with corporate entities under their CSR initiatives have provided vital funding and resources, enabling us to expand our operations. We have started discussions with research institutions like ICMR-NIN and IIMR to ensure that our programmes are backed by scientific research and impact assessments, allowing us to refine our strategies and improve outcomes.

7.      What is the future vision for the Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust, and how do you plan to expand its programmes to serve even more children and mothers across India? 

The future vision of the Sri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust is to further expand its reach, by serving over 2 crore children across India. We plan to achieve this by deepening our existing partnerships, forging new collaborations with both public and private sectors, and continuously innovating our nutrition programmes to address evolving needs.

We also aim to focus on maternal nutrition – an important facet as the health of mothers directly impacts the well-being of future generations. Additionally, we intend to scale up our operations in underserved regions, by leveraging technology and data-driven approaches to maximise efficiency and impact.

Kavi Bhandari

BW Reporters Editorial lead — BW Wellbeing