'40 p.c. of malnourished children are in India'

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, APRIL 20. Malnutrition is costing the Indian economy dearly; in fact, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has put it at between $ 10 billions and $ 28 billions in terms of lost productivity, illness and death.

Lamenting the malnutrition situation in the country, the chief of Child Development & Nutrition, Dr. (Ms.) Patrice Engle, said India alone accounted for 40 per cent of the malnourished children in the world.

Briefing mediapersons about the nutrition levels in the country here on Wednesday, Dr. Engle said 53 per cent of under four- year-olds in India are moderately or severely malnourished. In terms of numbers, this amounts to 60 million children.

While 30 per cent new-borns are significantly underweight, 87 per cent of pregnant women and approximately 60 per cent of young children are anaemic.

According to Dr. Engle, the rates of malnutrition in India were much higher than those in some sub-Saharan countries. While gender bias and poor awareness cause malnutrition, studies have revealed that two common misconceptions also contribute to the high incidence in the country.

``People here believe in eating down during pregnancy and work on the premise that young children require less food per kg weight than adults and do not require additional food before 12 months.''

A comparative study of the cases of Low Birth Weight (LBW) in Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh shows that India is second only to Bangladesh from below. The incidence of LBW in India stands at 33 per cent; way below Sri Lanka (18.4 per cent).

Among the SAARC countries, too, India is just a shade better than Bangladesh; particularly in Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM) with 53 per cent children suffering from this condition.

In fact, PEM is the most widely prevalent form of malnutrition among children. Equally common are deficiencies of micronutrients (Vitamins A, B, C, D, iodine and iron).

While poverty is a basic cause for malnutrition in India as is the case in much of the developing world, a major factor here is the low status of women.

``Unless their status is improved, the chances of nutrition levels improving with successive generations are quite bleak as the ultimate responsibility of bringing up the child in its early years lies with the woman in traditional societies.''

Lauding the Integrated Child Development Scheme of the Government as a model one, Dr. Engle said there was a need to make it more focused. In her view, a tremendous amount can be achieved if the focus is on a few action areas: care for the mother before, during and after pregnancy; care for the young child; encouraging exclusive breast feeding; and initiating complementary feeding at six months.

Underlining the impact of malnutrition on the future of children and, in turn, the country, Dr. Engle said nutrition affected not only the physical growth of the child, but also its mental development.

On the view that malnutrition can be a drag on the national economy, she said spending money on food subsidies and food supplies may not always be the best approach.

``Some families need the food. But for others, helping them to make better use of the resources that they already have will have a greater long-term impact on the nutritional status and productivity of the next generation of Indians.

``Spending the same amount on community-based approaches to improve nutrition and targeting the food supplements to the most needy can have a greater impact on the nutritional status of the population,'' Dr. Engle said as a strategy for tackling the problem that is proving to be a drain on the Indian economy.

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