Perhaps the one positive aspect to an otherwise grim story of chronic hunger in India is the more frequent public acknowledgement of this sorry state of affairs. The latest monthly progress report of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) for Maharashtra says some 25 per cent of children below six years in Mumbai are severely malnourished. In January, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described the prevalence of child undernourishment as a national shame when releasing the Hunger and Malnutrition Report 2011. India's extremely low global ranking on quality of life indices used to be met with a smug denial until some years ago. That has slowly given way to an acknowledgement that the impressive growth of purchasing power among the upwardly mobile classes has remained anything but socially inclusive. The government's draft food security bill has rightly been criticised for failing to codify universal entitlements to food. But a policy of huge procurement of grains — with its attendant wastage — would sooner rather than later be unsustainable when hunger remains a mass phenomenon. A particularly disturbing aspect of the ICDS figures on Mumbai is that the city's north east suburb, notorious for its abysmally poor public health, maternal and child care services, is continuing on a downward spiral. This is the region that recorded an infant mortality rate twice the State average in 2009, as per the human development report for Greater Mumbai. The State government has now decided to set up an urban malnutrition mission, an idea worth replicating elsewhere.
Research has established that chronic maternal undernourishment leads to fetal deprivation, underweight babies and the greater proneness of children and adults to illnesses. The susceptibility to cardiovascular diseases in later life when nutritional deprivations occur in the womb is of particular concern in India. The obvious lesson here is that comprehensive interventions which enhance the agency of women would bring all round benefits for the entire population. There is also a strong case to extend the midday meal scheme to the 0-6 age group, given the very positive impact it has had on children of school going age. After all, a lack of early intervention adversely impacts learning and developmental outcomes. Concerted efforts in the 1990s saw an increase in school enrolments and retention rates and a modest decline in the prevalence of child labour. These culminated in the enactment of the law on the right to basic education. A sustained intervention in relation to malnutrition and attendant morbidity should not be beyond our reach.
Unless National Planning Commission formulate a policy to eradicate poverty and provide adequate fund to eliminate hunger in a phased manner nothing significant is going to happen.Providing job to the needy through extensive industrialisation and some such measures seem to be the answer.
Is not India a land of intriguing contradictions in many ways? It has
the largest percentage of intellectuals and educational Institutions
to its credit on one hand while staying at the bottom of literate
countries at the international level with a premier position of 105
out of 128.
It has super rich persons like Sunil Mittal while it stays as 63rd in
the new poverty index for the world.. It has more poor people in
eight states than in the 26 countries of sub-Saharan Africa as per
world study reports. Is not more than 410 million people live in
poverty in the Indian States, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West
Bengal
Is not the”intensity” of the poverty in parts of India is equal to, if not worse than, that in Africa. It is the largest democracy in the world but has no leader of its own to ride it. We have international renowned economists with us but of no use to eradicate poverty from the country.
It is land where Bhoodhan movement has flourished but to day it is land grabbers land. And at last we rank high in corruption hit Nations while we have the finest judiciary system in the world.. A land with 50% of the people owning cell phones while 50% does not have toilet facilities.
Its really shameful that even after 50 yeasr of our independence we are suffering from acute problems like child and materbal malnutrition problems as well as increase in child mortility rates. Though we have acknowledged this fact and started various initiatives like mid day meals for kids having age below 6 years and laws like right to basic education. Other facts that need to be acknowledged that maternal undernourishment can lead to underweight and malnourished babies and later can be the root cause for various heart diseases in the adults and the same should be curbed tenatiously before thing went out of hands.
Malnutrition is indeed a national shame especilly when our country is witnessing a boom in economy. Although the government's policies,priorities and practices are not always up to the expectation there is a lot to be done on the social side.
Educating the young mothers about the basics of nutrition is very important.Ignorance and superstitions shuold be removed from their minds. If they eat the right food their babies will be born with good birth weight which in it self is an insurance for a healthy future of the baby.Breast feeding up to 1 yr. should be encouraged.Proper weaning and infant and child feeding practices should be tought to all mothers. Improving the personal hygiene and environmental sanitation is very important in preventing diseases which are also a major cause of malnutrition in children.
On the govt. side there should be sincerity , lack of curruption and urgency in executing the welfare programs.
Why are the polticians fat and the Mumbai children malnourished?
It is a matter of shame that the country in which food is getting rotten in FCI godowns, 25 per of children below 6 years in Mumbai are found severely malnourished. It is really disappointing thing that government distributes rotten food through PDS which is already been rejected by APL families. Why the concerned officials can't act timely and distribute the food in good codition saving the lives of many?
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has to include in the list of national shame more things: child abuse, insecurity of women and children, famished farmers, draining of exchequer through the conduit, visible and invisible, of corruption and the like. Why does undernourishment or malnutrition prevail amongst the children? The children are undernourished not because their parents are idlers or they ignore the former, but because the fruits of their labour is not compatible with the devouring inequities that bedevil the community; becuase they cannot find solution to their prblems due to absence of governance worth its name. As you advise, sustained intervention to curb malnutrition and related morbidity is imperative.
[Research has established that chronic maternal undernourishment leads to fetal deprivation, underweight babies and the greater proneness of children and adults to illnesses.] It also results in subnormal intelligence, another factor that helps to explain why all these senas are never at a loss for recruits.
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