Malnourishment continues to be high among children in Kalaburagi

As many as 398 children were admitted to the nutritional centre between May 2015 and May 2016

Vittal Chikkani, divisional convener, Samajika Parivarthana Janandolana, addressing a press conference in Kalaburagi on Saturday. —Photo: Arun Kulkarni

Cases of malnourishment among children in the 0-6 age group continue to be reported in Kalaburagi district and there are no efforts to provide nutritional care to the affected children at the specially created cells at the government hospital and anganwadis.

Though 1,911 severely malnourished children in the 0-6 age group were identified in the district in April this year, only 34 were admitted to the nutrition rehabilitation centre at the government general hospital in Kalaburagi. The fate of the remaining children is not known and the steps initiated by the Women and Child Development Department to improve their nutritional levels are not available.

As per the recommendations of the High Court of Karnataka-appointed committee headed by N.K. Patil to study the incidence of malnutrition among children, malnourished children should be shifted to the centres at the district headquarters for improving their nutritional levels.

The Samajika Parivarthana Janandolana, which took up a survey of malnourished children and their status in Chittapur taluk in Kalaburagi district, has come out with shocking facts. Only a few children were being sent to the nutritional centres and the remaining are provided normal food.

Vittal Chikkani, divisional convener of the janandolana, told presspersons in on Saturday that a majority of the recommendations of the N.K. Patil committee had not been implemented in the district. As many as 398 malnourished children were admitted to the nutritional centre between May 2015 and May 2016.

He said that as per the recommendations of the committee, the health status of the children at anganwadis should be checked every six months and severely malnourished children should be admitted to the nutritional centre. But this was not being done at anganwadis. Most of the anganwadis did not have weighing machines to check the weight of the children. Nutritional supplements like egg and other specially prepared food for the moderately malnourished children were also not being provided, he added.