Lack of access to food leaves 30L kids facing chronic ailment

According to the latest data, currently, there are 30,24,850 severely malnourished children in the country with Uttar Pradesh topping the chart with over 14 lakh suffering from this condition.

According to the nutritional status of children under Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) [as on December 31, 2015] there are a total of 30,24,850 children which are classified under the Grade-III and IV category that includes children with Severely Acute Malnutrition (SAM). SAM is described as a condition that predisposes a child to a weak immune system making him/her vulnerable to all kinds of chronic illnesses.

Followed by Uttar Pradesh, Bihar has 4,80,884 children being diagnosed to be severely malnourished. Then is Assam with 4,70,099; followed by Chhattisgarh with 1,47,343 such kids and then Madhya Pradesh having around 1,23,732 severely malnourished children. Grade I and II which includes moderately malnourished children are 16344101.

India has about 132 million children under the age of five years. Of these, it is expected that 9 million children, are suffering from SAM. Also, as per National Family Health Survey-III, conducted during 2005-2006, India has 57 million — or more than a third — of the world’s 146 million undernourished children. As per the Rapid Survey on Children (RSoC) 2013-14, 29.4 per cent children under 5 years of age are underweight, 38.7 per cent are stunted and 15.1 per cent are wasted. Asked recently in Parliament regarding the issue and if budgetary cuts had affected welfare schemes for children and women, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Sanjay Gandhi had explained: “There is no deficiency of funds under ICDS scheme. During the financial year 2015-16, a sum of Rs 15,438.93 crore was released to states and Union Territories for implementing this scheme.”

She added: “The problem of malnutrition is multi-dimensional and inter-generational in nature and important determinants are inadequate access to food, health services, safe drinking water, sanitation and environmental conditions, educational levels, income and socio-cultural factors like early marriages etc. Situation is further compounded by ignorance about nutritional needs of infants and young children and repeated infections.”

“Further, the problem of malnutrition being multi-faceted in nature needs well-coordinated efforts from different sectors such as agriculture including horticulture, food, health, rural development, biotechnology, water and sanitation, education information and broadcasting, among others,” she added.