National shame: child malnutrition still very high -Governance Now

National shame: child malnutrition still very high

42 percent children underweight, according to report

GN Bureau | January 10, 2012

Child malnutrition may have fallen in recent years but 42 percent of the children under the age of five are underweight, according to the Hunger and Malnutrition survey conducted by Naandi Foundation.

A report with the survey findings says that the growth of nearly 60 percent children is stunted. This has happened despite the economy growing at more than seven percent since the last eight years. The survey collected data from 73,000 households in 112 districts across nine states.

Of the children suffering from stunting, about half are severely stunted; about half of all children are underweight or stunted by the age of 24 months, according to the report. India also has the dubious distinction of highest number of stunted children.

“The prevalence of child underweight has decreased from 53 per cent to 42 per cent and this represents a 20.3 per cent decrease over a seven year period with an average annual rate of reduction of 2.9 per cent," says the report.

The report points out that the mother’s illiteracy also leads to higher chances of malnutrition in a child. “The prevalence of child underweight among mothers who cannot read is 45 per cent while that among mothers with 10 or more years of education is 27 per cent,” the report added.

The study found that most of the mothers had moved away from breastfeeding their infants. "51 per cent of the mothers did not give colostrum to the newborn soon after birth and 58 per cent mothers fed water to their infants before six months," the report pointed out.

Muslim and SC/ST children are more likely to be underweight, according to the report. Children from low income families also suffer the same fate.

The study was conducted by the Naandi Foundation and released by the prime minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. "The problem of malnutrition is a matter of national shame. Despite impressive growth in our GDP, the level of under-nutrition in the country is unacceptably high,” he said.

However, he also said that the country cannot rely solely on the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) to tackle the problem of malnutrition.

Read the report

Comments

Other News

Here’s an I.D.E.A. for career growth and success

Success in today’s professional organisation is no longer solely determined by academic qualifications, technical expertise or years of experience. While these attributes do matter, organisations increasingly value individuals who demonstrate the right mindset and behavioural qualities. The ability

PM interacts with CEOs, founders of space startups

Prime minister Narendra Modi interacted with CEOs and Founders of 20 Space Startups at Seva Teerth on Friday. CEOs of leading companies in the space sector working in diverse fields ranging from building rockets and reusable semi-cryogenic launch vehicles, avionics, satelli

From one cow to a dairy business

In 2012, Anita Dash wasn`t dreaming of building a dairy brand. She wasn`t studying business models or planning market expansion. Like countless mothers across India, her focus was on something much simpler: giving her children a better future. At the time, her most valuable

Ethanol blending: The two sides of a story

India`s crude oil consumption is estimated to be around 88.5% imported from abroad. This one single figure is also responsible for why ethanol has become both an economic strategy and fuel policy at the same time. In an economy like India, which depends so heavily on foreign oil, any increase in internat

Food inflation: Not a macroeconomic statistic but a developmental indicator

India`s retail inflation shows a reassuring picture at first glance. According to the latest data, Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation edged up to 4.38% in June 2026 from 3.93% in May 2026, but continued to remain within the Reserve Bank of India`s (RBI) target band of 4% (+/- 2%). However, beneath this

Skin in the game or masterful market timing?

When a company founder opens their personal chequebook to buy shares in their own business, stock markets usually applaud. To the average retail investor, it feels like the ultimate vote of confidence, a sign that the people running the show have real skin in the game and believe brighter days are ahead.