Only one in 10 Indian children aged 6-23 months gets “adequate diet”, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of data from National Family Health Survey 2015-16 (NFHS-4). Consequently, 35.7 percent of children below five years of age are underweight, according to NFHS-4 data.
After birth, between 0-6 months, breastmilk alone is sufficient to meet an infant’s requirement for food and water. Only 55 percent children are exclusively breastfed for six months, according to NFHS-4, a rise of 9 percent from 2005-06 (NFHS-3).
Optimal breastfeeding in the first year and complementary feeding practices together can prevent almost one-fifth of deaths in children under five years of age, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund.
Optimal complementary feeding is the most effective intervention that can significantly reduce stunting during the first two years of life. Stunted children are more susceptible to fall sick, underperform in schools, more likely to become overweight and often earn less than non-stunted co-workers.
An “adequate diet” is defined as introduction of nutritionally-adequate and safe complementary (solid) foods at six months together with continued breastfeeding up to two years of age or beyond.
The guidelines for adequate diet, as per the World Health Organization (WHO), include:
India has more malnourished children than sub-Saharan Africa and nearly one of every five malnourished children in the world is from India.
In 21 of 36 states/union territories (UTs), the percentage of non-breastfed children having an adequate diet was more than that of breastfed children.
Among the larger states, only Tamil Nadu met its millennium development goal (MDG) target with a reduction of 67 percent in infant mortality rate to 19 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2015, IndiaSpend reported on 9 January 2017.
The top 5 states that receive an adequate diet (Source: National Family Health Survey, 2015-16.)
The bottom five states that receive an adequate diet (Source: National Family Health Survey, 2015-16 )
Despite having an Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme, a flagship programme of the central government since 1975 and one of the world’s largest for child-care and development, and increasing the budget for child health by more than three times over a decade to 2014-15, India missed its MDG targets, IndiaSpend reported on 4 January 2016.
From not actually covering all eligible children to having infrastructural gaps, many deficiencies of ICDS have been documented, IndiaSpend reported on May 3, 2017.
Soha Moitra, regional director (north), Child Rights and You (CRY), an advocacy, told ABP Live in an interview on 19 April 2017:
“In the context of addressing child malnutrition, universalisation of anganwadi centres (courtyard shelters) and a robust system of growth monitoring are measures that can lead us to lasting solutions to such issues,” Moitra added.
NITI Aayog, the government’s premier think-tank, in its three-year (2017-20) agenda draft, made some suggestions for tackling nutrition issues:
(Saha is an MA Gender and Development student at Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. This article was originally published in IndiaSpend.com)
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