MALNUTRITION IN INDIA

About a third of Indian’s are believed to be malnourished and over 40% of children receive less food than they should.
Almost 40 per cent of Indian children are underweight, and 45 per cent are stunted due to malnourishment, according to th

e National Family Health Survey-3.
over 5000 die every day in India for malnutrition.

About a third of Indian’s are believed to be malnourished and over 40% of children receive less food than they should. The Govt. of India is increasing food subsidies to address this situation, but the rapidly rising population of much of Northern India (birth rate has fallen but momentum means the population continues to rise) poses continuing challenges.

The following are some articles that attempt to explore the problem.

World Vision and Save the Children Produce a Nutrition Barometer putting India at the Bottom of the list

World Vision India and Save the Children are calling for political promises to be urgently translated into action to avert the deaths of millions of undernourished children, of which over 5000 die every day in India alone.Strikingly, India appears at the bottom of the list despite experiencing strong economic growth in the past few years. At the other end of the spectrum lies Peru, which has shown strong political resolve and has committed growing resources to fight child undernutrition, thus achieving results. To read more please click here.

It’s time kids got their due: A beautiful childhood

Almost 40 per cent of Indian children are underweight, and 45 per cent are stunted due to malnourishment, according to the National Family Health Survey-3. The survey also reported that six out of every 10 children from the poorest households are stunted, and almost as many are underweight. Children from the SC and ST communities are also more likely to be malnourished, according to this report. The ministry of health and family welfare states that more than 55 per cent of the under-5 mortality occurs from complications resulting from malnutrition. To read more click here.

India seeks stronger partnership with UK in field of nutrition

Women and Child Development minister Krishna Tirath has sought stronger partnership with the United Kingdom in the field of child development and nutrition, saying tackling malnutrition was the top priority for her government.Krishna sought stronger cooperation in these fields in a meeting with UK’s Secretary of State Andrew Mitchell in London. To read more please click here.

New weighing machine to detect child malnutrition

Severe acute malnutrition (SAM), which is one of the causes of infant mortality, will now be very easy to detect for auxiliary nurse midwife as the state medical health and family welfare department along with Unicef have introduced a simple-to-use baby weighing scale.The health department would distribute these baby weighing scales to all the ANMs for rapid health assessment of the under-5 children in the state. To read more please clickhere.

India commits to end hunger at London event

India on Sunday night joined Britain and other nations at the Global Hunger Event to initiate more steps to end hunger and malnutrition for 170 million children across the globe by the next Olympics in Rio in 2016. To read more please click here.

India: Undernourished children a call for reform and action

In a report published by the World Bank it says that India’s Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) needs to undergo significant changes to address the current malnutrition crisis in India. The prevalence of underweight children in India is among the highest in the world, and is nearly double that of Sub-Saharan Africa, the report says. It also observes that malnutrition in India is a concentrated phenomenon. To read more please click here.

Shocking numbers of South Asian children go to bed hungry

One third of families in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are regularly going to bed hungry due to soaring food prices in a region which accounts for half the world’s underweight children, the head of Save the Children says. To read more please click here.

Child malnutrition in India: Why does it persist?

A report published by Child In Need Institute (CINI) states that “An estimated forty per cent of the world’s severely malnourished children under five live in India.” To read the report please click here.

The Budget’s Big Focus on Malnutrition

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said India will increase spending on malnutrition programs by 58% in fiscal 2012-13 to 158 billion rupees, or about $3 billion. Despite its rapid economic growth, India has struggled with persistently high rates of malnutrition, far worse than many worse-performing economies. A recent Indian survey, which covered about a fifth of the country’s children, found 42% of those under the age of 5 are underweight. Read more here

Hunger and pain mark a child’s life in tale of two Indias

For all its economic growth, India remains home to half the world’s poor and hungry. More than 400 million people here exist on less than a dollar a day. In parts of India – like Ujala’s village of Paretha, in the central state of Madhya Pradesh – child malnutrition rates are worse than in sub-Saharan Africa. Read more here

India Today Conclave 2012: Talks, ideas, questions

“Where is the state and what is its role when as much as 51 per cent of the adult population in India is proven to be suffering from chronic malnutrition?”This was one of the questions asked at the India Today Conclave 2012, a two-day conference held in New Delhi recently. Read more here

First 1,000 days shape health for life

Scientists say there are at least 50 brain chemicals or neurotransmitters that are affected by the intake of food and micronutrients by the child in his or her first 1,000 days. The impact of inadequate nutrition during this golden period is lasting and irreversible, with effects beyond physical health to affect the child’s cognitive development. Read more here

Health gets booster shot with robust fund infusion

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called India’s high infant and maternal mortality rates a national shame. In the Budget, the government has responded with a 58 per cent increase in allocation to the nutrition programme of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), targeting pre-school children and pregnant women. ICDS funds have gone up from Rs 10,000 crore in 2011-12 to Rs 15,850 crore in 2012-13 . Read more here