Madhya Pradesh topped in malnourishment among children
BHOPAL: One of the study conducted by Child Rights and You (CRY) across four states -Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan – found child malnourishment to be highly prevalent in Madhya Pradesh as the share of children in the age group of 0-6 was 14.53%, a decline of 3.34% from the 2001 Census figures.
Yogita Verma, director of CRY said, “In a random sample survey of 255 children across 11 settlements of Bhopal we found that 69% children were severely malnourished. Not only this, there is shortfall of 47% Anganwadi centres in MP”.
“Of the total budget of Rs90 crore allocated for the National Nutrition Mission, the share for child health has seen a decline from 21.7% to 17.56%,” Saighal said, adding child malnourishment in India was preventable if there is timely investment in terms of resources, staff and planning.
“These child deaths and diseases are entirely preventable. The most damaging effects of under-nutrition occur during pregnancy and the first two years of a child’s life. These damages are a leading factor behind India’s high infant mortality and morbidity rates,” she said.
Child population in MP is 10,548,295. And the infant mortality rate in Madhya Pradesh is 72 out of 1,000 children born, said 2011 census report.
