Gender discrimination a key underlying cause of malnutrition in India

Undernutrition-both stunting and wasting-significantly increases the risks of dying from infections

The condition of girls and women-–their nutrition, health and social status–is one of the indirect cause of under-nutrition in India, said Purnima Menon, 46, a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a think tank.

Various forms of malnutrition contribute to almost 45% deaths of Indian children under five, she told IndiaSpend, in the course of an interview that assessed the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), India’s 40-year old nutritional scheme, the importance of health data and institutional measures to fight malnutrition.

Menon is based at IFPRI’s Asia office in New Delhi