27 December, 2016

Child malnutrition, India's future in risk

The joint child malnutrition estimates for the 1990-2015 period provided by the Unicef, the WHO and the World Bank Group’s 2016 report underscore the magnitude of the global malnutrition crisis. Despite concerted efforts to address malnutrition, around 156 million children under the age of five are stunted, 42 million are overweight and wasting is threatening the lives of 50 million worldwide. Some children suffer from more than one nutrition-related problem; thus, a child who is wasting could also be stunted and while stunting and wasting are caused by consuming under-nutritious food, children become overweight and obese when they live on junk food or expend too few calories for the amount of food they consume. Asia bears the bulk of the global burden of malnutrition with around 56% of the stunted, 48% of the overweight and 68% of the world’s wasted children under the age of 5 belonging to this continent. The situation in Southern Asia is a reason for serious concern. Stunting rates among children exceed 30% in the region. The report says that the wasting rate here “is approaching a critical public health emergency.”

There is little understanding about the true nature of malnutrition. It is not as simple as it seems. For one, malnutrition is not just about lack of food (macronutrients) but about the quality (micronutrients) as well as the capacity to absorb and utilise nutrients. These are affected by the quality of water and sanitation. Many believe that stunting is merely a problem of shortness. It is thought that a stunted child is just shorter than the other children of his age group. But, it is more complex. Stunting not only impacts the height and physical development of a child but also his mental abilities and the capacity to learn. Thus, a stunted child performs poorly at school, suffers from self-esteem issues, etc. As an adult, his interactive skills are adversely affected as is his capacity to earn a living and lead a normal life. Likewise, an obese child’s self-confidence and physical activity are low and he is prone to develop diabetes and hypertension early in life. Worryingly, the damage done by stunting, for instance, is often irreversible. Early intervention is necessary to be effective.

India has put in place an array of programmes like the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and the midday meal scheme to improve child nutri­tion. There are initiatives for pregnant and lactating mot­hers, too. While these are laudable efforts, they are insufficient. More funds are clearly needed; current budget allocations remain way below par. It is impor­tant that our decision makers realise that child nutri­tion is a priority issue. Investment in child nutrition, after all, is an investment in India’s future.

Source: www.deccanherald.com

27.12.2016

Start with what is right rather than what is acceptable

Peter F. Drucker