Jawhar: The Maharashtra government is trying to make the state free of malnutrition-related deaths, Health Minister Eknath Shinde has said. He was speaking here in Thane district after inauguration of "Bal Sanjeevan Chavani", a first-of-its-kind refuge centre for malnourished children, by Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday night. "We will work to ensure that not a single death occurs due to malnutrition," Shinde said.

Tribal-dominated Jawhar taluka had witnessed a number of malnutrition-related deaths in the last decades. Shinde said the number of deaths due to SAM (Severe Acute Malnutrition) has dropped from 861 in 2016 to 219 in June 2019, and that of MAM (Moderate Malnutrition) from 4315 to around 2000 in the similar period. Among other measures, the government has roped in "Bhumkas" or village leaders to encourage tribals to seek treatment at health centres for their children.