New Update: 48% Children are Malnourished in India

48% Children are Malnourished in India

Child malnutrition is a biggest challenge our country is facing today even when the economy is said to surging ahead.

The politicians and media were talking about the sparkling new economic growth and development figures. There was no such attention given to the “other” growth and development figures — those related to child nutrition. These figures are less than sparkling. If current rates of progress in reducing undernutrition are not improved upon, India will reach the U.N. Millennium Development Goal of halving undernutrition by 2043. The target date is 2015. China has already exceeded the target.

 

a) Every second child under three in India is malnourished.

b) The number for under five children is 55 million which is two and half times the population of Australia.

c) 35% of the world’s malnourished children live in India.

d) Half the number of child deaths takes place due to malnutrition

e) In the world 40% of the low weight babies (below 2.5kg) are from India

One of the major causes of low birth weight babies in India is the high incidences of anaemia among women(56 per cent of women in India suffer from some form of anaemia).

f) almost one out of every two children in this country goes to bed on an empty stomach

Recent studies have shown that the damage is done by the time a child reaches the age of two. The critical age-group is 0-2 and it is this group that needs the maximum attention. The governments focus needs to shift to address the nutritional and survival issues related to this group

The issue of child malnutrition needs attention from all levels. To be fair to the Government of India, it needs help to combat undernutrition. It is such a huge burden (43 per cent of children are malnourished) that the government cannot do it alone. Civil society, business, and the academic community have to help. International donors have an important catalytic role to play. But nutrition is a public good. Leadership has to come from the government. We still do not see it.

---Issued in Public Interest by NGO ASHA



[Source: WHO, The Hindu, AIO / 2010]