Various surveys and studies reveal that a large number of children are malnourished in parts of the world, especially in developing countries. These children are missing out on nutrients their growing bodies need to develop properly. According to the World Health Organization, malnutrition is the biggest threat to child health. It can cause both mental and physical retardation/disabled i.e. cognitive delays and IQ deficits, weak immune system, shorter height and less brain capacity as well as stunted growth.
Child nutrition is a pressing issue in the present time. The role of parents and siblings are as crucial as any other person in child’s growth and development. Here we are going to discuss about Various issues found by several survey reports on child nutrition.
National Family Health Survey 2015-16 (NFHS-4): NFHS-4 reported that although there has been a significant improvement in child nutrition in India. India has the highest proportion of underweight children in the world: a full 36 per cent. The corresponding proportion is much lower in other South Asian countries, including Bangladesh (22 per cent) and Nepal (27 per cent).
National Family Health Survey 2019-20 (NFHS-5): The NFHS-5 report reveals another alarming fact: Child nutrition indicators have not improved between 2015-16 and 2019-20. In fact, in seven out of 10 major states for which data has been released, the proportion of underweight children increased in that period. In six of these 10 states, stunting increased.
Hunger watch: Two-thirds of the respondents (adults from India’s poorest households) in the latest survey said that they were eating less nutritious food today than before the lockdown. The obvious implication is that in practice, the scheme has not delivered enough staples to needy people, or involved them sufficiently in its design. The results also suggest that demonetisation has disproportionately hurt the poor.
Lockdown impact: When the government of India imposed a country-wide, multi-day “lockdown”, Mid-day meals in schools and anganwadis were discontinued. Many states did try to make some arrangement for distribution of cash or “take-home rations” in lieu of cooked meals, but these measures were mostly haphazard and inadequate.
Disruption of routine health services: The lockdown has also led to a massive disruption of routine health services including immunisation and access to treatment for underserved populations.
The government’s attempts to discourage a couple from having more than one child boils down to denying them their constitutional rights. Under the National Food Security Act 2013, pregnant women were eligible for maternity benefits of Rs 6,000 per child. Extending maternity entitlements to all births, not just the first living child, is a legal obligation under NFSA, and the spirit of the Act also calls for raising their amount well above the outdated norm of Rs 6,000 per child.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in its recommendations has been emphasising inclusion of eggs in take-home rations for young children and pregnant women. It is high time that this recommendation is implemented by the Government. A mid-day meal means two things - one, the child whose stomach is filled in the middle of the day will attend better in school; and two, a nutritional meal will go a long way in fighting malnutrition among children from disadvantaged social groups.
The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), the primary health and nutrition programme, is an important institutional mechanism to ensure that the programmes of the Ministry reach every child in India which has an invaluable network of 14 lakh anganwadis managed by local women. Most of these anganwadi workers and helpers are capable women who can work wonders with a supportive environment.