Child malnutrition may be the biggest challenge our country is facing today even when the economy is claimed to surging ahead. Every second child under three within the country is malnourished. The number of under-five children is 55 million which is 2 and half times the population of Australia.35% of the world’s malnourished children sleep in India.
Half the amount of kid deaths take place because of malnutrition which may well be prevented. matters have not seen an improvement between the reports of the National Family Health Survey III in 2007 and NFHS II seven years earlier.
It is a known indisputable fact that malnutrition can affect economic productivity and therefore the ability to create decisions. Experts say that unless the matter is addressed on a war footing it’ll lower the country’s GDP rate by 2-3%. One of the explanations why the problem has remained unaddressed is because it’s not high on the national agenda. There has been no determined action.
The problem of kid malnutrition starts long before the kid is born. The age at which a girl marries contains a concerning the foetus. So does her nutritional intake during pregnancy and after she gives birth. Her educational status will decide whether she goes to certain institutional deliveries that prevent infections, the importance she attaches to hygiene and to immunization of her child. Her nutrition, health and education and her status within the family and therefore the community determine whether the kid is malnourished or not. it’s impractical to deal with the matter of kid malnutrition unless the condition of the girl is improved.
The Indian figures are worse than the malnutrition rates prevalent in Africa while those countries have known for famine, poverty and political instability. Within the world, 40% of the low-weight babies (below 2.5kg) are from India. One of the key causes of low birth weight babies in India is the high incidences of anemia among women.
Recent studies have shown that the damage is finished by the time a baby reaches the age of two. The critical age group is 0-2 and it’s this group that needs the most attention. The government’s focus must shift to handle the nutritional and survival issues associated with this group.
The issue of kid malnutrition needs attention from all levels. From a political will to pressure from civil societies and communities themselves.
