Over 33 lakh children in India malnourished: Govt data

Contact Counsellor

CategorySocial

Last Updated08/11/2021

Over 33 lakh children in India are malnourished and more than half of them fall in the severely malnourished category with Maharashtra, Bihar and Gujarat topping the list, the WCD ministry has said in response to an RTI query.
The total 33.23 lakh/3.3 million is a compilation of data from 34 states and union territories.
The numbers were registered on the Poshan tracker app developed last year as a governance tool for real-time monitoring of nutritional outcomes.

The Women and Child Development ministry estimates that there are 17,76,902 (17.76 lakh/1.7 million) severely acute malnourished children (SAM) and 15,46,420 (15.46 lakh/1.5 million) moderately acute malnourished (MAM) children as of October 14, 2021.
While the numbers are alarming in themselves, a comparison with figures from last November makes them even more so. A 91 per cent rise in the number of SAM children has been seen between November 2020 and October 14, 2021 — up from 9,27,606 (9.27 lakh) to 17.76 lakh now.
However, the two sets of figures are based on different methods of data collection.
The number of SAM children (from six months to six years) identified last year was counted by 36 states and union territories and conveyed to the Centre.
The latest figures are through the Poshan tracker where the numbers were directly entered by anganwadis and accessed by the Centre and the age group of the children has not been specified.

The World Health Organisation defines SAM by very low weight-for-height or a mid-upper arm circumference less than 115 mm, or by the presence of nutritional oedema.
MAM is defined as moderate wasting and/or mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) greater or equal to 115 mm and less than 125 mm.
Both MAM and SAM have severe health repercussions on the health of a child.
Children suffering from SAM have very low weight for their height, and are nine times more likely to die in case of diseases due to their weakened immune system.
Those suffering from MAM are also at increased risk of morbidity and mortality during childhood.

The government of India had launched the National Nutrition Mission (NNM) or POSHAN Abhiyaan to ensure a “Malnutrition Free India” by 2022.

It aims to improve nutritional levels among school children which also has a direct and positive impact on enrolment, retention and attendance in schools.

It aims to ensure food and nutrition security for the most vulnerables through its associated schemes and programmes, making access to food a legal right.

It was launched in 1975, the scheme aims at providing food, preschool education, primary healthcare, immunization, health check-up and referral services to children under 6 years of age and their mothers.