Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs
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To tackle malnutrition, food prices must be regulated and the PDS strengthened in both developed and poor States
Despite being one of the fastest growing economies in the world, India has been ranked at 103 out of 119 countries, with hunger levels categorised as “serious”, in the Global Hunger Index 2018. Strikingly, in July, three girls died of starvation resulting from prolonged malnutrition in the national capital Delhi, which is a high per capita income State. India’s child malnourishment level is not only the highest in the world but varies considerably across States. As per the National Family Health Survey-2016, the proportion of stunted (low height for age) children under five is significantly higher (38.4%) than global (22.9%) averages.
The underweight (low weight for age) children rate (35.7%) is a lot higher than the global average (13.5%) too. India is home to over 53.3 million stunted, 49.6 million underweight and 29.2 million wasted (low weight for height) children under five. An inclusive and holistic approach, including controlling/regulating food price, strengthening the public distribution system (PDS) and income support policies for making food cheaper are important steps.
The ICDS was a high impact nutrition intervention, but its universal availability and quality are questionable due to poor functioning. The government must broaden the ICDS programme by ensuring diversity in food items in worst-hit districts. The launch of the National Nutrition Mission as a strategy to fight maternal and child malnutrition is a welcome step towards achieving the targets of underweight and stunted children under five years from 35.7% to 20.7% and from 38.4% to 25% respectively by 2022. But sustained budgetary commitment towards nutrition components is not sharply visible.
Source:https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/setting-a-proper-diet-plan/article25500470.ece
