60 pc MP kids are malnourished: UN

Seth Doane,CNN

The latest report of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says almost half of Indian children under the age of three are underweight and has called malnutrition in India a case of silent emergency.

Madhya Pradesh, which is the worst hit state, has thousands of children suffering. One of many such children is Kalpina, whose thinning legs, lightened hair and weakened stamina are clear signs of severe malnutrition.
“I am worried about my child. She is severely malnourished. I told my husband I should go to the hospital for treatment. He said if the child will die then let her die,” says Kalipna’s mother, Gita.

Meanwhile, UNICEF Representative in Madhya pradesh Hamid El Bashir says, “Malnutrition is much higher among girls in India because people culturally prefer to feed the boys. There is a preference in this. So there are many factors.”
UNICEF estimates there are more than 70,000 severely malnourished children in Madhya Pradesh. But there are just 30 centres like UNICEF to deal with the crisis.
“Zero to three is a critical age for children. Most of the brain formation and the intellectual formation of the child takes place within this period. So if we do not put much investment on children at this age we are going to lose a lot,” Hamid explains.

Malnutrition is a problem that has always been brushed under the carpets by politicians but the dire conditions in Madhya Pradesh now definitely call for some mandate moves.

Former district collector of Shivpuri, Dr Manohar Agnani says, “I think the word 'enough' effort will be only good to say when you do not have a single death of malnutrition.”

However, the state in the rest of the country is no better than Madhya Pradesh. India ranks amongst the worst countries when it comes to malnutrition cases.
According to UNICEF, even in so-called ‘posh’ areas like south Delhi up to 60 per cent children under the age of three suffer from malnutrition.
Although, there is a nationwide effort to curb malnutrition at UNICEF centres, the situation is so critical that it definitely calls for more measures and definitely on a much larger scale.

However, what is ironic is that India has long had a surplus in food grains and has one of the largest child health and nutrition programs in the world