33 lakh children in India are malnourished

Ground Report | New Delhi: Children in India are malnourished; The latest figures have been given by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development in response to a question asked under the Right to Information. Of these 33 lakh children, more than 17 lakh are severely malnourished. These figures are for 34 states and union territories. The names of Maharashtra, Bihar, and Gujarat are at the top of the state-wise list.

These data were entered on the Nutrition Tracker app, an app developed to monitor nutrition programmes. These figures show a more worrying situation when compared with the situation a year ago. Between November 2020 and October 14, 2021, there has been a 91 percent jump in the number of severely malnourished children.

Children in India are malnourished

A 91 percent increase in the number of SAM children has been observed between November 2020 and October 14, 2021 as compared to the previous year's figures - which has now increased from 9,27,606 (9.27 lakh) to 17.76 lakh. However, the two sets of statistics are based on different methods of data collection.

The number of SAM children (from six months to six years) identified last year was counted by 36 states and union territories and conveyed to the Centre. The latest figures are through Potion Tracker where numbers were entered directly by the Anganwadis and accessed by the center and the age group of the children is not specified.

ALSO READ: Minor girl raped, killed In Gujarat’s Surat

The World Health Organization defines SAM as being very underweight with height or mid-upper arm circumference less than 115 mm, or the presence of nutritional edema. MAM is defined as moderate wasting and/or mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) greater than 115 mm or less than 125 mm.

Both MAM and SAM have serious health effects on a child's health. Children with SAMe weigh too little for their height, and are nine times more likely to die of diseases caused by weakened immune systems. People with MAM are also at increased risk of childhood morbidity and mortality.

State-wise data

Maharashtra recorded the highest number of malnourished children at 6,16,772 (6.16 lakh), including 1,57,984 (1.57 lakh) MAM children and 4,58,788 (4.58 lakh) SAM children, according to an RTI reply quoting nutrition tracker. Were. Bihar is second on the list with 4,75,824 (4.75 lakh) malnourished children (3,23,741 MAM children and 1,52,083 SAM children).

Gujarat recorded the third highest number of such children at 3,20,465 (3.20 lakh) with 1,55,101 (1.55 lakh) MAM children and 1,65,364 (1.65 lakh) SAM children.

Among other states, Andhra Pradesh reported 2,67,228 (2.76 lakh) malnourished children (69,274 MAM children and 1,97,954 SAM children) and Karnataka reported 2,49,463 (2.49 lakh) such cases (1,82,178 MAM children and 67,285 SAM children). children) entered. )

ALSO READ: Minor girl raped, killed In Gujarat’s Surat

Uttar Pradesh recorded 1,86,640 (1.86 lakh) malnourished children (1,14,094 MAM children and 72,546 SAM children), while Tamil Nadu recorded 1,78,060 (1.78 lakh children (1,20,076 MAM children and 57,984 SAM children). Assam has 1,76,462 (1.76 lakh) cases of malnutrition (1,17,016 MAM children and 59,446 SAM children) and Telangana has 1,52,524 (1.52 lakh, 95,033 MAM and 57,491 SAM children).

New Delhi is also not far behind. The combined number of SAM and MAM children in the national capital is 1,17,345 (1.17 lakh) with 20,122 MAMs and 97,223 SAM children.

effects of malnutrition

The immune system of such children is also very weak and they are nine times more likely to die due to some serious disease. Children with the MAM stage are also more likely to get sick and die.

Apart from this, India's position on the Global Hunger Index also fell further. In 116 countries, where India was ranked 94th in 2020, it has fallen to 101st place in 2021. India has now lagged behind even its neighboring countries Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

You can connect with Ground Report on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Whatsapp. For suggestions and writeups mail us at [email protected]