Malnutrition in India - impacts on health and education
When nine-month-old twins Devki and Rahul were brought by their mother to the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre in Kolaras --
located in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh -- Rahul was a normal weight and size for his age, yet his sister Devki weighed
just over half of what she should have. Devki's condition was the result of severe malnutrition.
located in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh -- Rahul was a normal weight and size for his age, yet his sister Devki weighed
just over half of what she should have. Devki's condition was the result of severe malnutrition.
Both babies showed such varied weight and health that doctors suspected less food was given to Devki, a common occurrence
in some areas of India where boys are often given more attention than girls.
in some areas of India where boys are often given more attention than girls.
According to a UNICEF report, half of the world's undernourished children live in South Asia. In India, 30 per cent of children are
born with low birth weight and almost 50 per cent remain underweight by the age of three.
born with low birth weight and almost 50 per cent remain underweight by the age of three.
One of the Millennium Development Goals is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015, which would mean halving the
proportion of children who are underweight for their age. UNICEF has warned that the world is not on track to meet that goal.
proportion of children who are underweight for their age. UNICEF has warned that the world is not on track to meet that goal.
Malnutrition is more common in India than in Sub-Saharan Africa.
One in every three malnourished children in the world lives in India.
Malnutrition limits development and the capacity to learn.
It also costs lives: about 50 per cent of all childhood deaths are attributed to malnutrition.
In India, around 46 per cent of all children below the age of three are too small for their age, 47 per cent are underweight and at least 16 per cent are wasted.
Many of these children are severely malnourished.
Many of these children are severely malnourished.
The prevalence of malnutrition varies across states, with Madhya Pradesh recording the highest rate (55 per cent) and Kerala among the lowest (27 per cent).
Malnutrition in children is not affected by food intake alone; it is also influenced by access to health services,
quality of care for the child and pregnant mother as well as good hygiene practices.
quality of care for the child and pregnant mother as well as good hygiene practices.
Girls are more at risk of malnutrition than boys because of their lower social status.
1 in 3 of the world's malnourished children lives in India
Malnutrition in early childhood has serious, long-term consequences because it impedes motor, sensory, cognitive, social and emotional development.
Malnourished children are less likely to perform well in school and more likely to grow into malnourished adults, at greater risk of disease and early death.
Around one-third of all adult women are underweight.
Inadequate care of women and girls, especially during pregnancy, results in low- birthweight babies.
Nearly 30 per cent of all newborns have a low birthweight, making them vulnerable to further malnutrition and disease.
Vitamin and mineral deficiencies also affect children's survival and development.
Anaemia affects 74 per cent of children under the age of three, more than 90 per cent of adolescent girls and 50 per cent of women.
Iodine deficiency, which reduces learning capacity by up to 13 per cent, is widespread because fewer than half of all households use iodised salt.
Vitamin A deficiency, which causes blindness and increases morbidity and mortality among pre-schoolers, also remains a public-health problem.
MPs stage a Candlelight Vigil to highlight Child Malnutrition in India
Getting more than 100 Members of Parliament to sign a pledge was never going to be an easy task.
Staging a candlelight vigil at the high-security India Gate area was also fraught with problems– permissions, security, crowds…etc.
India's largest contributor to child mortality gears up to save its children Sunken eyes, swollen belly, shrivelled skin.
Listless, lifeless, weighing barely 4.5 kg, two-year-old Abhilasha had little hope of survival.
Listless, lifeless, weighing barely 4.5 kg, two-year-old Abhilasha had little hope of survival.
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