Sunday, February 11, 2007
India has one of worldââ¬â¢s highest child malnutrition rates
NYT report notes rapid economic growth has failed to protect most vulnerable
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: Child malnutrition rates in India are comparable to those found in some of the poorest countries of the world, such as Burkina Faso and Bangladesh, according to a report in the New York Times.
The report, filed by the newspaperââ¬â¢s India-based correspondent, says that in a country where 40 percent of the population are below 18 years of age, figures released by the government on Friday offer an ââ¬Åalarmingââ¬Â portrait of child health: Nearly half of Indiaââ¬â¢s children below the age of three are underweight ââ¬â the most reliable measure of malnutrition.
Equally troubling is that child malnutrition rates declined by only one percentage point, to 46 percent, in the last seven years. During the same period, the economy grew at six to eight percent, Moreover, a government announcement claimed last week that the economy was poised to grow by more than nine percent in the current fiscal year.
Child malnutrition rates put India roughly on a par with Burkina Faso and Bangladesh. Sudan posted better results, while Chinaââ¬â¢s malnutrition rates were put at eight percent, according to data compiled by the United Nations Childrenââ¬â¢s Fund (UNICEF).
The long-awaited Indian health report, which was quietly made public on Friday on a government website, also showed scant progress in childhood immunisation. In the survey, compiled in 2005-2006, more than 43 percent of children aged between 12-23 months were fully immunised, compared with 42 percent in the previous survey, in 1998-1999.
The Times notes that while widespread poverty is hardly new in India, the latest numbers are startling because they suggest that economic growth has not significantly uplifted the most destitute, nor have government efforts to improve childrenââ¬â¢s well-being yielded measurable results.
The nutrition figures also reflect the grinding poverty in parts of rural India, and poor public health and sanitation in general. The health survey measured how many households had access to a toilet (44 percent nationwide) and the proportion of children who suffered from diarrhoea and who were given oral re-hydration salts (58 percent).
ââ¬ÅItââ¬â¢s partly poverty, itââ¬â¢s partly the collapse of health services, itââ¬â¢s a measure of a completely lopsided pattern of growth in the country,ââ¬Â said Jean Drèze, who led a study of Indiaââ¬â¢s child nutrition programmes late last year.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\02\11\story_11-2-2007_pg7_21
India has one of worldââ¬â¢s highest child malnutrition rates
NYT report notes rapid economic growth has failed to protect most vulnerable
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: Child malnutrition rates in India are comparable to those found in some of the poorest countries of the world, such as Burkina Faso and Bangladesh, according to a report in the New York Times.
The report, filed by the newspaperââ¬â¢s India-based correspondent, says that in a country where 40 percent of the population are below 18 years of age, figures released by the government on Friday offer an ââ¬Åalarmingââ¬Â portrait of child health: Nearly half of Indiaââ¬â¢s children below the age of three are underweight ââ¬â the most reliable measure of malnutrition.
Equally troubling is that child malnutrition rates declined by only one percentage point, to 46 percent, in the last seven years. During the same period, the economy grew at six to eight percent, Moreover, a government announcement claimed last week that the economy was poised to grow by more than nine percent in the current fiscal year.
Child malnutrition rates put India roughly on a par with Burkina Faso and Bangladesh. Sudan posted better results, while Chinaââ¬â¢s malnutrition rates were put at eight percent, according to data compiled by the United Nations Childrenââ¬â¢s Fund (UNICEF).
The long-awaited Indian health report, which was quietly made public on Friday on a government website, also showed scant progress in childhood immunisation. In the survey, compiled in 2005-2006, more than 43 percent of children aged between 12-23 months were fully immunised, compared with 42 percent in the previous survey, in 1998-1999.
The Times notes that while widespread poverty is hardly new in India, the latest numbers are startling because they suggest that economic growth has not significantly uplifted the most destitute, nor have government efforts to improve childrenââ¬â¢s well-being yielded measurable results.
The nutrition figures also reflect the grinding poverty in parts of rural India, and poor public health and sanitation in general. The health survey measured how many households had access to a toilet (44 percent nationwide) and the proportion of children who suffered from diarrhoea and who were given oral re-hydration salts (58 percent).
ââ¬ÅItââ¬â¢s partly poverty, itââ¬â¢s partly the collapse of health services, itââ¬â¢s a measure of a completely lopsided pattern of growth in the country,ââ¬Â said Jean Drèze, who led a study of Indiaââ¬â¢s child nutrition programmes late last year.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\02\11\story_11-2-2007_pg7_21
