Aradhana Sharma, Nov 13, 2010,
NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister may have called malnutrition a "national shame", but it has taken him more than two years to focus his attention on it and finally conevene a meeting of the National Council on India's Nutritional Challenges. Though the PM-headed Council was formed in October 2008, it will hold its first meeting later this month.
Despite impressive economic growth, India has one of the poorest records in the world when it comes to malnutrition, particularly among children. At 43%, malnutrition among under-five children is worse than Sub-Saharan Africa. Around 28% infants in India are born underweight as opposed to just 4% in China. Under-five mortality rate in India stands at 69 as compared to 21 in China. Similarly, other wider indicators also paint a grim picture.
According to the global hunger index, India scores 24 on a scale of 100 as compared to China's 6 (The higher a country scores on the index, the worse is its standing).
The terms of reference of the Council were to give a direction to overcome the nation's nutritional challenges through coordinated inter-sectoral action.
Also, the Council was to review nutrition programmes every quarter. But, several quarters have been lost, thanks to the delay in holding the first meeting.
Experts maintain that an over-reliance on the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) to tackle the nutritional issue has backfired. The focus on anganwadis and mid-day meal schemes has narrowed the focus on the target group -- between three and six years.
However, recent studies have shown that maximum damage is done from the time a child is conceived till the time the baby is two years old -- a crucial phase when intervention is required. There is near unanimity that impact could be felt only if the scope of the programme is widened.
Most of the young children die, or are undernourished due to recurring infection and illness, making it imperative to address sanitation, potable water and sundry health issues simultaneously. A mother's health and education are also major contributing factor.
Dr Rajiv Tandon, a nutrition expert, falls back on "guarded optimism" to convey his sense of hope.
The PM's scathing remark has certainly pitchforked it in the national consciousness. Be that as it may, multi-pronged approach, integrated mechanism and, significantly, appropriate oversight is the need of the hour to translate it into actions on the ground.
As the recent UN's Human Development Report has shown, GDP growth does not automatically lead to better development indicators. According to the latest report, though India figured among the top 10 nations in terms of income growth, it fared rather poorly on the human development index.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6915211.cms?prtpage=1
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