Extent of Malnutrition in India

India’s performance on key malnutrition indicators is poor according to national and international studies.

State of the World’s Children 2016

  • As per “The State of the World’s Children 2016” Report published by United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), India ranks 10th in terms of underweight prevalence and 17th in terms of stunting prevalence in the world.

NFHS-4

  • National Family Health Surveys conducted periodically assess the nutritional status of the population over a period of time which is an outcome of the impact of all the schemes of the Government intended to bring about improvement in the nutritional status.
  • The latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015-16 shows a decline in the prevalence of malnutrition in the country as compared to NFHS-3 data, which is an outcome of the various schemes implemented by the Government towards this goal.
  • Over the decade between 2005 and 2015, there has been an overall reduction in the proportion of underweight children in India, mainly on account of an improvement in stunting.While the percentage of stunted children under 5 reduced from 48% in 2005-06 to 38.4% in 2015-16, there has been a rise in the percentage of children who are wasted from 19.8% to 21% during this period. A high increase in the incidence of wasting was noted in Punjab, Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Sikkim.
  • The prevalence of underweight children was found to be higher in rural areas (38%) than urban areas (29%).
  • Further, more than half of India’s children are anaemic (58%), indicating an inadequate amount of haemoglobin in the blood.This is caused by a nutritional deficiency of iron and other essential minerals, and vitamins in the body.

Remember This: According to WHO, infants weighing less than 2.5 Kg are 20 times more likely to die than heavier babies. In India, the national average weight at birth is less than 2.5 Kg for 19% of the children.The incidence of low birth-weight babies varied across different states, with Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh witnessing the highest number of underweight childbirths at 23%.

Addressing Malnutrition

  • There are multiple — about half a dozen — schemes to address malnutrition. These include Public Distribution System, Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Programme and so on.
  • These are implemented by as many ministries as there are schemes but there is little coordination. Programme implementation is tardy and not uniform across the country.
  • Indeed, access to ‘nutritious food’ and affordability ought to be a guiding factor for policymakers.

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