Malnutrition

Rural population has been grappling with decline in food and nutrition intake after the advent of the neo-liberal policies in the early 1990s with an estimated 80 per cent of them now having less than 2,200 calories per day, according to economist Utsa Patnaik. "The nutritional intake data is not there. But from whatever there is, by using certain approximations, I estimate that more than 80 per cent of the rural population has slipped below 2,200 calories per day intake," she said while delivering the second P Sundarayya memorial lecture on the topic 'Agrarian Distress, Worker-Peasant Alliance and Resistance to Corporate and Imperialist Designs in India' here on Wednesday evening. "That is what the data tell us. That is what the government's own data from the annual economic surveys and from the National Sample Service tell us. And of course, all these claims of declining mass poverty is completely false," she alleged. The accepted average calorie requirement in India is 2400 ...

The annual report of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation projects that climate change could result in an additional 28 million children suffering from wasting by 2050

The pandemic and debt crises in poorer countries have hit health and education funding

Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has said he would give India "an A" for its focus on solving the problem of malnutrition. "Well, India, for its income level, acknowledges that some of these nutritional indicators are weaker than it would like. That kind of frankness and focus on it, I think is very impressive," Gates told PTI in an interview. He said India is more focused on the issue than any other government, Gates said. It's using the public feeding system and the Midday Meal System to try and get fortified foods out, but it's still a huge opportunity," Gates said. "I would give India an A for focus on the problem, he said. Responding to a question on the occasion of the launch of the Gates Foundation's Goalkeepers Report 2024, Gates said: I think it probably would rate itself maybe a B for the education but with the real serious intent to do even better." The annual report tracks progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The underst

Govt must address malnutrition

Presently, Afghanistan witnesses a surge in the number of malnourished children seeking care at specialised clinics nationwide

Afghanistan's Taliban-appointed Ministry of Public Health said that the number of malnourished mothers and children in the country has slightly increased compared to past years

India needs to address problems like malnutrition to become a developed nation and also focus on its most important asset of human capital, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said. Speaking at an interactive session on a book co-authored by him at the Indian School of Business (ISB) here on Sunday, he asked how the country can become a developed one when malnutrition is prevalent. "We are fixated with becoming a developed, rich country by 2047. I use this as an example to say, you must be joking about becoming a developed rich country by 2047 with 35 per cent malnutrition today," he said. The children who are suffering from malnutrition now would join the labour force 10 years from now, he said. He also stressed on nurturing the human capital in the country by offering appropriate training on a large scale. "In order to get the medium term right, we have to focus on India's most important asset, its human capital. We have 1.4 billion people more than any other country in the .

Citing multiple studies, the report pointed out the association between high consumption of highly processed foods and both low dietary diversity and inadequate intake of micronutrients

The Haryana government Saturday said it would introduce a spirulina-based product to combat malnutrition in children with a six-month pilot project planned in Nuh district. Spirulina, an algae that grows in both freshwater and saltwater, is rich in nutrients and possesses antioxidant properties, according to an official release. A study conducted by the Institute of Health Management and Research (IHMR), Bengaluru, demonstrated a reduction in malnutrition by administering spirulina to children for six months, it said. Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal, after presiding over the fifth meeting of the state convergence committee under POSHAN Abhiyaan here, said three nutrition-rich programmes will be implemented across all blocks of the aspirational district Nuh. These programmes aim to alleviate malnutrition and anaemia among children and women. Nutritional support in the form of ready-to-eat food items, nutritional packets, and antioxidant-rich foods will be provided to childre

The Haryana government will launch a special campaign aimed at improving the health of malnourished children in the state, an official said on Friday. Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal on Friday said this initiative will focus on addressing factors such as underweight and stunted growth that impact the lives of children from birth till the age of 6 years. The goal is to overcome these factors by 2026 and promote the overall health of children and women, he said during a meeting here. Kaushal stressed the importance of conducting a survey to gauge the extent of improvement in malnutrition and anaemia among women and children. He called for presenting meaningful results of the government's six-month nutrition campaign to identify any shortcomings and enhance its effectiveness. Kaushal asked the officers to form a dedicated team to execute this survey campaign, with the aim of eradicating malnutrition and anaemia among women and children. The state government will introduce a

Undernutrition, especially the deficiency of micronutrients, remains a big concern in India, say food experts who emphasised the need to focus more on tackling this "hidden hunger" that undermines the health of people. Undernutrition denotes insufficient intake of energy and nutrients to meet an individual's needs to maintain good health. The Global Food Policy Report (GFPR) 2023 launched this week by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) said that globally the undernourished population had increased to 768 million in 2021, marking a 34.2 per cent rise from 2014 when it was estimated to be 572 million. Undernourishment was most prevalent in Afghanistan at 30 per cent between 2019 and 2021, followed by 17 per cent in Pakistan, 16 per cent in India, 12 per cent in Bangladesh, six per cent in Nepal, and four per cent in Sri Lanka, the report said. Shahidur Rashid, Director-South Asia, IFPRI, noted that India is well placed when it comes to food production and ...

India has the "largest number of malnourished" people, despite being the second largest producer of food in the world, Delhi Minister Atishi said in London, prompting sharp reactions from the BJP which alleged that she "defamed" the country on an international platform. Addressing the Cambridge India Conference in London on Thursday, the Delhi education minister claimed that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has brought a major shift in the politics of India by his "exemplary work" in the past eight years. "It is for the first time in the democratic history of India that politics is being done on governance and parties across the country have education and health as their top agenda," Atishi said, adding, "It is really concerning that it took us 75 years since Independence to discuss politics that delivers these basic amenities." "It has taken so many years for governments to prioritize education and healthcare. In the past 75 years, we have not had a single political party that claime

About 43 lakh or 7.7 per cent children were found malnourished out of approximately 5.6 crore children measured by 'Poshan Tracker' in the month of February, the Ministry of Women and Child Development said on Friday. Responding to a question in Lok Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said Meghalaya reported the highest number of stunting at 46.5 per cent, while Puducherry recorded the lowest at 20 per cent. Maharashtra reported the highest level of wasted children at 25.6 per cent, while Chandigarh reported the minimum at 8.4 per cent, according to the data shared in a written response. Child wasting refers to a child who is too thin for his or her height and is the result of recent rapid weight loss or the failure to gain weight. A child who is moderately or severely wasted has an increased risk of death, but treatment is possible. The data also said that Bihar reported the maximum percentage of children who are underweight, while Mizoram reported the minimum

The Gujarat government on Thursday informed the Legislative Assembly that more than 1.25 lakh children in the state were malnourished and it was taking various steps to improve the situation. Responding to a set of questions raised by Congress MLAs during Question Hour, Women and Child Development Minister Bhanuben Babariya informed that out of the total 1,25,707 malnourished children in the state, 1,01,586 were 'underweight', while 24,121 fell in the category of 'severely underweight'. Tribal-dominated district of Narmada accounted for the highest number of malnourished children (12,492), followed by Vadodara (11,322), Anand (9,615), Sabarkantha (7,270), Surat (6,967) and Bharuch (5,863), said Babariya in her written replies. The minister said the state government is taking various steps to end malnutrition in the state. Children in the age group of 3 to 6 years are given hot breakfast and lunch at anganwadis (child care centres). In addition, fruits are given to children twice a

Acute malnutrition among pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers has increased by 25 per cent in the past two years in 12 countries hard hit by rising food prices fuelled by the fighting in Ukraine, according to a new United Nations report. Surveys in 10 countries in Africa and two in the Middle East that are worst affected by the food crisis were used in a UNICEF report, released Tuesday, a day before International Women's Day. Poor nutrition in pregnant and breastfeeding women can lead to weak immunity and complications during pregnancy and birth. Some countries in sub-Saharan Africa have in previous studies recorded high infant mortality rates due to various complications. Globally, 51 million children under two years old are too short for their age due to malnutrition, a condition called stunting, and half of these become stunted during pregnancy or within their first six months of life, the report states. Without urgent action from the international community, the consequence

One-third of Sudan's population (about 15.5 mn people) needs humanitarian assistance this year, while the world body says it will provide assistance to 12.5 mn people in need

The report predicted that four million children and women will experience acute malnutrition, with malnutrition rates continuing to be exceedingly high

The impact of drought in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia has led to food insecurity and a high level of acute malnutrition, the UN WFP has warned