Malnutrition: Reality behind Govt Health care services...!!!

When the Maharashtra government first recorded the figures of child deaths due to endemic malnutrition in the remote villages of Melghat, shocking numbers were revealed.

Almost two decades later, even though the government figures show a substantial drop in the number of malnutrition deaths, social activists and health-coordinators working in the impoverished area say that the authorities pass off such deaths as still-births.

The reality continues to bite with the data recorded just before monsoon this year, indicating 509 malnutrition induced deaths during past year, until March 2011. Every year, hundreds of children of Korku tribe in the tehsils of Melghat in the Satpura ranges fall prey to starvation and malnutrition. While the government records indicate figures ranging from 400-525 in the last five years, health activists working among the tribals tell a different story.

Madhukar Mane, Health Coordinator with NGO Maitri, which organises monsoon campaigns to prevent deaths in the precarious season, says: "The figures are certainly better than the late 90s but the numbers are still very high in the tehsils of Dharni and Chikhaldhara. Government records child deaths under two categories: still birth and neonatal. What happens is that they write off several deaths as still births so that the infant mortality rate (IMR) could be kept under check.

Maximum child deaths occur during monsoons as the tribals are not able to work and feed their children. Ironically, most government schemes are launched after the monsoons.

About 50 per cent families in Melghat are below poverty line with a high rate of unemployment. Weak mothers often deliver children in grade 1 malnutrition.

It almost instantly deteriorates to grade 2, and then 3 & 4. The nearest emergency health care is about 120 km away that too without a child specialist or medical equipment. About 39 children are suffering from grade 4 malnutrition while 442 fall under grade 3 here.

Jayashree Shidore, coordinating activist with Maitri, says: "Children with a sunken face and a bloated stomach is a common sight in Melghat." Maitri is helping such kids by imparting basic health education, especially to nursing mothers, and lessons in personal hygiene.

 
Malnutrition mars Gujarat's growth story: HDI Report: Despite a shining Gujarat story of high economic growth model applauded by a US Congressional report, the India Human Development Report 2011 points out that the state fares the worst in terms of overall hunger and malnutrition in the country. Taking a dig at the Gujarat model, Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh, while releasing the report, said, "On nutrition, I am puzzled why the high rate of malnutrition continues to persist even in pockets high economic growth.

105 child malnutrition deaths from April-June in Melghat : AMRAVATI: The Melghat region of Vidarbha is presently a picture of despair and what sounds a discordant note is the cries of kid dying due of malnutrition. A total 105 infants have died between April and June 2009 in Melghat. Despite efforts by the government and non-government agencies and after spending a large amount of money, the infant deaths in this tribal region are unabated. Health department sources said that about 69 children are reported to be in stage IV of malnutrition in Chilkhaldhara and Dharni tehsils of Melghat region.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_child-malnutrition-supriya-sule-to-visit-melghat_1604058

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-07-23/india/28197788_1_malnutrition-melghat-infant-deaths

http://in.news.yahoo.com/twelve-infants-die-kolkata-childrens-hospital-123053104.html 

Child Survival in India: A Serious Issue

The level of child undernutrition remains unacceptable throughout the world, with 90 per cent of the developing world’s chronically undernourished (stunted) children living in Asia and Africa. Detrimental and often undetected until severe, undernutrition undermines the survival, growth and development of children and women, and diminishes the strength and capacity of nations. With persistently high levels of undernutrition in the developing world, vital opportunities to save millions of lives are being lost, and many more millions of children are not growing and developing to their full potential. Nutrition is a core pillar of human development and concrete, large-scale programming not only can reduce the burden of undernutrition and deprivation in countries but also can advance the progress of nations.

Fast Facts: In India 20 per cent of children under five years of age suffer from wasting due to acute undernutrition. More than one third of the world’s children who are wasted live in India. Forty three per cent of Indian children under five years are underweight and 48 per cent (i.e. 61 million children) are stunted due to chronic undernutrition, India accounts for more than 3 out of every 10 stunted children in the world. Undernutrition is substantially higher in rural than in urban areas. Short birth intervals are associated with higher levels of undernutrition. The per centage of children who are severely underweight is almost five times higher among children whose mothers have no education than among children whose mothers have 12 or more years of schooling. Undernutrition is more common for children of mothers who are undernourished themselves (i.e. body mass index below 18.5) than for children whose mothers are not undernourished. Children from scheduled tribes have the poorest nutritional status on almost every measure and the high prevalence of wasting in this group (28 per cent) is of particular concern. • India has the highest number of low birth weight babies per year at an estimated 7.4 million. • Only 25 per cent of newborns were put to the breast within one hour of birth. • Less than half of children (46 per cent) under six months of age are exclusively breastfed. • Only 20 per cent children age 6-23 months are fed appropriately according to all three recommended practices for infant and young child feeding. • 70 per cent children age 6- 59 months are anaemic. Children of mothers who are severely anaemic are seven times as likely to be severely anaemic as children of mothers who are not anaemic. • Only half (51 per cent) of households use adequately iodized salt. • Only one third (33 per cent) Indian children receive any service from an anganwadi centre; less than 25per cent receive supplementary foods through ICDS; and only 18 per cent have their weights measured in an AWC.
Source: UNICEF