Can't Stomach This..

India has the largest population of malnourished children, which has been specially growing since the past two decades. The prevalence of underweight children too has fallen a meager amount only. The World Bank has been supporting India to improve the nutrition problem since 1980 to enhance the standard of living and the quality of life.

Malnutrition has been estimated to be associated with about half of the child’s death and more than half account from the diseases that spreads due to it.

In India about 22% of the country’s burden of diseases contribute from malnutrition and they affect the population by leaps and bounds. A recent survey by the World Bank offers some special information on economic parameters, which says that under nutrition, affects cognitive and motor development.

It undermines educational attainment and also has an impact on the productivity of work whether that is at home or office.

Certain times there may also be adverse implications for income and economic growth. The sum of such waste in India may cost about Rs.11250 crores a pretty large amount, which must surely be taken notice by the Government of India.

The prevalence of underweight children is also highest in India and almost double to that of Africa. Seeing the impact on health, productivity and education, it is a major source of obstruction in India for human development.

About 60 million children are underweight here and the Bank’s report is nothing less than a warning to the sub-continent. The country needs to take a cue from the report and reduce malnutrition whose decline over the last decade has been very small, modest and inconsistent.

Such a positive action especially in the less developed areas would be the most noteworthy step not only for the development of the children but also for the country as a whole.