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In 2005-06, about 44 percent of Indian children under age five were underweight and 48 percent were stunted. Because of the country’s large population, India is home to 42 percent of the world’s underweight children and 31 percent of its stunted children.
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Between 1990 and 2008, the prevalence of underweight children dropped from 60 percent to 44 percent, while the under-five mortality rate fell from 12 percent to 7 percent.
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| Dangers of undernourishment in children |
According to the National Family Health Survey (2005-06), 42.5 per cent of children under the age of five have been reported to be underweight and as high as 69.5 per cent anaemic. This has serious implication for the country's growth story going forward, particularly given the age profile of the population. Malnutrition and under-nourishment exert long-term adverse effects on human health, labour productivity and general well being. Perpetual under-nutrition results in low resistance to infections and increased morbidity. BL 041010
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Measures needed to reduce child under nutrition
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Recent evidence shows that the window of opportunity for improving child nutrition spans the period from -9 to +24 months (that is, the 1,000 days between conception and a child’s second birthday). This is the period when children are in greatest need of adequate amounts of nutritious food, preventive and curative health care, and age-appropriate care practices for healthy development and when interventions are most likely to prevent under nutrition from setting in. After age two, the effects of under nutrition are largely irreversible.
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To reduce child under nutrition, governments should invest in effective nutrition interventions targeted to mothers and children during the window of opportunity. These interventions should focus on improving maternal nutrition during pregnancy and lactation, promoting sound breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, providing essential micronutrients, and adopting salt iodization, while also ensuring appropriate immunization. Achieving high coverage of these interventions could have a rapid impact on improving early childhood nutrition. Governments should also adopt policies that deal more broadly with the underlying causes of under nutrition such as food insecurity, lack of access to health services, and poor caring and feeding practices, which are exacerbated by poverty and gender inequity. Poverty-reduction strategies focused on reducing inequities are therefore part of the solution for improving early childhood nutrition, as are policies specifically aimed at improving the health, nutrition, and social status of girls and women. 2010 Global Hunger Index: Fact s and Findings: IFPRI
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| Note: Percentage of children aged 6-59 months with moderate or severe anaemia, 2005-06-All India 43% |
| Percentage with any anaemia |
NFHS 2 Total 1998-99 |
NFHS 3 Total 2005-06 |
NFHS3Urban
2005-06 |
NFHS3 Rural
2005-06 |
| Children 6-35 months |
74.2 |
79.2 |
72.7 |
81.2 |
| Married women 15-49 years |
51.8 |
56.2 |
51.5 |
58.2 |
| Pregnant women 15-49 years |
49.7 |
57.9 |
59.0 |
49.7 |
Source: National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-3 /2005-06
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Abstract: “Anaemia is one of the leading causes of school dropouts and results in lower mental and motor development, fatigue and low productivity in adulthood. There are various estimates of the impact on GDP; according to The Micronutrient Initiative, India loses 1.27 per cent of its GDP annually due to anaemia. The Indian Medical Association goes with a figure closer to 4 per cent of GDP” |
Anaemia is one of India’s most serious health concerns with almost half the children below the age of five suffering from moderate to severe anaemia. What is more staggering is the fact that while Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana have the highest prevalence of severe anaemia in children, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh have the highest incidence of moderate anaemia among children. The incidence of moderate to severe anaemia in children is less than 25 per cent in just four states — Manipur, Goa, Mizoram and Kerala.
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Anaemia is also a concern among women of all groups and since it results from an interplay of multiple factors — nutritional deficiencies, infectious diseases like hookworm and malaria — it is difficult to pinpoint why one state is worse off than the other. What is clear, though, is that the prevalence of anaemia is an important measure of health. Its pervasiveness across India, across all income groups points to the low health levels of the Indian population.
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Why is this important? Anaemia is significantly related to mortality and productivity. During pregnancy, it not only leads to maternal complications but also affects infant health and mortality by causing low birth weight and lowered immunity to infections. According to the Indian Medical Association, anaemia is one of the leading causes of school dropouts and results in lower mental and motor development, fatigue and low productivity in adulthood. There are various estimates of the impact on GDP; according to The Micronutrient Initiative, India loses 1.27 per cent of its GDP annually due to anaemia. The Indian Medical Association goes with a figure closer to 4 per cent of GDP, which includes the effect of learning and motor impairment in anaemic children. Despite a national programme to control anaemia since the seventies, there has been negligible progress. In fact, between 1998-99 and 2005-06, the incidence of anaemia actually increased in India. Indicus Analysts/071010 |
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Prices of essentials rose 18 per cent in one year: Assocham
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Prices of commodities like condiments and spices, eggs, fish, meat, tea, wheat, pulses and coffee rose by 18 per cent in the one year between August 2009 and 2010, an industry lobby says. |
In the same period, the per capita income of an average Indian rose by 10.4 per cent - Rs 4,404 - from Rs 40,141 in August 2009, the study by the Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) adds. |
The study says that the rise in prices of essential commodities and per capita income is utterly disproportionate. |
The prices of condiments witnessed extremely high volatility - 40 per cent - between August 2009 and August 2010.
Prices of eggs, fish and meat also rose over 27 per cent between August 2009 and August 2010. |
During this period, milk prices increased by 26 per cent. Prices of tea increased by 11 per cent, while meat prices have increased by 10 per cent. ET 101010 |
Cereals, pulses push food inflation up to 16.37% : for the week ended October 2, on the back of higher prices of cereals, fruits, select vegetables and milk. |
WPI inflation for September up at 8.62% from 8.51 per cent in the previous month. Prices of primary articles — food, non-food articles and minerals — shot up by 17.45 per cent on an annual basis. During the month, fuel and power prices went up by 11.06 per cent, while manufactured goods became expensive by 4.59 pe r cent on an annual basis. — PTI 151010
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Severly drought prone Anantapur, A.P
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Anatapur district in AP, second only to Jaisalmer (Rajasthan) in terms of poor rainfall, had suffered drought in 74 years in the last 120 years which means that out of every ten years 6 years were drought years. BL 121010 |
| Krsr/and 147/181010 |
