Malnutrition challenge: No room for compromise on children’s health

THE government claims that building a healthier and more productive nation is integral to its vision of Viksit Bharat-2047. However, things are not looking very bright for India’s youngest citizens on the nutritional front. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has informed the Rajya Sabha that about 37 per cent of the children under five were found to be stunted (low height for their age), nearly 16 per cent underweight (low weight for their age) and 5.46 per cent wasted (low weight for their height) among those registered on the Poshan Tracker app. The obvious deficiencies don’t augur well for the future of these kids — and of the nation as well. They will be in their mid-twenties when the centenary of Independence arrives, but there won’t be much to celebrate for them if their health and wellbeing are not prioritised today.

The findings come less than a year after the ministry received the National Award for e-Governance for the tracker initiative, which is designed for real-time monitoring and evaluation of children’s nutritional growth. The Poshan programme’s performance merits a comprehensive assessment. How far has it succeeded in identifying and addressing kids’ growth issues? And to what extent have the interventions helped in improving nutritional outcomes?

It’s obvious that there are big gaps in implementation that need to be plugged. The malnutrition challenge is no doubt enormous. Maximising the use of technology has its advantages, but it is no magic bullet to solve this pan-India problem. Community mobilisation and parental engagement hold the key to providing wholesome food to children on a sustainable basis. The role of anganwadi workers cannot be overemphasised. They must be empowered through training and guidance to gauge a child’s growth trajectory and take prompt action whenever deviations are detected. Course correction is the need of the hour. The distinction of being the world’s fastest-growing major economy will lose its sheen if crores of children across the country remain undernourished.

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