India winning war against Hunger & Malnutrition as child shunting declines sharply!

[Chanakya's_Chant]

Malnutrition declined during Manmohan govt: World Bank
Report says child undernourishment fell 9.1 percentage points from FY06 to FY14; exclusive breastfeeding data trend shows 2025 target well in line

​

India's percentage of children whose growth is stunted due to undernourishment showed a 9.1 percentage point decline between 2005-06 and 2013-14, the period when the Manmohan Singh-led government was in power, a new World Bank report on nutrition in India says.

​

The report, issued on Thursday, based its findings on the 2005-06 National Family Health Survey and the preliminary findings of the 2013-14 Rapid Survey of Children.​

In this period, the average annual rate of reduction in children with stunted growth was 2.6 per cent, below the national target of 3.7 per cent but much higher than the 1.7 per cent of earlier surveys.​

The findings show the percentage of infants exclusively breastfed had risen in this period from 46.4 per cent to 71.6 per cent. Both parameters are considered key indicators on child malnutrition and health.

"The rise in exclusive breastfeeding rates from 46.4 per cent to 71.6 per cent in eight years represents an average annual rate of increase of 5.5 per cent, far above the rate required to meet India's World Health Assembly (WHA) target by 2025 (1.5 per cent). In fact, if the preliminary numbers hold, India will have by by 2025 far surpassed its WHA exclusive breastfeeding target of 57 per cent," the report said.

The percentage of children under five years who are wasting away dipped from 2005-06 to 2013-14 from 20 to 15 per cent, the report said. Wasting, or low weight for height, is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five. The report says India loses two to three per cent of its GDP every year due to under-nutrition among children in the age group of up to two years.​

​

"Significant direct and indirect economic losses are associated with under-nutrition, with direct productivity losses estimated at more than 10 per cent of lifetime individual earnings, and about two to three per cent loss to GDP," it said.

In the last decade, India has improved its health status faster than other South Asian countries, the new data indicates, as opposed to the widespread belief that countries like Bangladesh had done a better job on reducing malnutrition than India despite India’s faster economic growth.

The biggest nutritional success from the new numbers is India’s progress on the number of infants below the age of six months who are exclusively breastfed, an important nutritional practice. From 46 per cent, this number has now shot up dramatically to 72 per cent, more than surpassing the World Health Assembly’s targets for India for 2025.

What caused this change? IFPRI credits the government’s push to extend nutrition schemes like the Integrated Child Development Services along with better monitoring by a Supreme Court-appointed committee, improve access to health under the National Rural Health Mission, provide access to work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and strengthen the implementation of the Public Delivery System for subsidized grain.

“In the last 10 to 15 years, what happened in India was similar to what we have seen in Brazil and China – fast-growing economies with reasonably concurrent investments in social sector programmes, leading to what we would expect to see, which is an improvement in health outcomes,” Dr. Purnima Menon, senior research fellow at IFPRI, told The Hindu. While countries like Nepal and Bangladesh conduct health surveys every three years, India has not had one for nearly ten years, Dr. Menon added.

For More Detailed Figures and Interactive Graphs Visit - ‘Malnourishment declined sharply among children in India’ - The Hindu

Source(s) and Reference(s):- Malnutrition declined during Manmohan govt: World Bank | Business Standard News
'Child stunting drops sharply in India' - The Hindu
India reduces hunger, moves up 8 ranks in global index | Business Line

The Original Repot - http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/ghi14.pdf

>> This Year, India with a score of has been removed from the list of countries with extremely alarming (GHI ≥ 30), or alarming (GHI between 20.0 and 29.9) hunger situation of the Global Hunger Index (GHI) - but is still classified as "Serious".

​

>> Regional Comparison ​

>> The number of hungry people in India has fallen to by 9.5 per cent in two decades from 1994 to 2014, but in neigbouring Pakistan the number has risen by over 38 per cent in the same period.
No of hungry people in India falling but rising in Pakistan: Report - Economic Times

>> India has improved it's score from 30.30 in GHI 1990 to 17.80 in GHI 2014 - with this India now ranks 55th out of 76 countries—ahead of Bangladesh and Pakistan, but behind Nepal and Sri Lanka.
2014 Global Hunger Index—Background Facts and Findings for Asia | International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)​

 

[Roybot]

'Child stunting drops sharply in India' - The Hindu

 

[cloud_9]

 

[Skull and Bones]

Excellent, apparently the congress tenure wasn't that all gloomy.

 

[Parul]

Nice!

 

[kbd-raaf]

Excellent, apparently the congress tenure wasn't that all gloomy.

Heard of the infinite monkey theorem?

 

[Indo-guy]

Heard of the infinite monkey theorem?

Lol in what context you are quoting it here ?

 

[Skull and Bones]

Heard of the infinite monkey theorem?

Nope, explain.

 

[kbd-raaf]

Nope, explain.

@Indo-guy

It talks about how if you lock an infinite number of monkeys into a room with a typewriter, eventually one of them will write Shakespeare.

In this context: eventually, even a bunch of fools will get something done right.

 

[Indrani]

It is more like the World Bank coming to the rescue of Congress govt after the govt has fallen. All along they were accepting of negative data and the congress itself went on painting India in terms of malnourishment, poverty, and disease to continue with its dole economics and vote bank politics. Now that it seems Modi govt will reap benefits of all the lies and distortion spread by Congress govt, this is a late attempt by powers that be to try and stem Modi's gains.

 

[RISING SUN]

Excellent, apparently the congress tenure wasn't that all gloomy.

Mate Congree didn't breastfeed the babies, it was mothers who are still sufferring. If government would had done good things it would had refelcted on mother health data index, while in this case, mothers are breastfeeding even though they are week. Which is a good thing but we need to think above baby only. Mother is also important, or should I say more important. Thank you.

 

[RISING SUN]

It is more like the World Bank coming to the rescue of Congress govt after the govt has fallen. All along they were accepting of negative data and the congress itself went on painting India in terms of malnourishment, poverty, and disease to continue with its dole economics and vote bank politics. Now that it seems Modi govt will reap benefits of all the lies and distortion spread by Congress govt, this is a late attempt by powers that be to try and stem Modi's gains.

WB is telling the plain truth which we are twisting. Government didn't breastfeed the babies, it was mothers role. Government role starts from mother health and role in baby health when shifted away from mother milk. Thank you.

 

[wolfpack]

LOL now congress is nudging foreign agencies to churn out numbers and gift awards to revive the dead Congress and gain some credibility in India?
We know it all, thats why we kicked them out in election.

 

[shuntmaster]

Stunting, wasting and micronutrient malnutrition endemic in Pakistan

The National Nutrition Survey 2011 released here has indicated that stunting, wasting and micronutrient malnutrition are endemic in Pakistan. The report said the increasing rate of chronic and acute malnutrition is primarily due to poverty, high illiteracy rates among mothers and food insecurity.

The survey was conducted by the Aga Khan University’s Division of women and child health, Pakistan’s Ministry of Health and UNICEF. The last such survey was conducted in 2001-2002, according to federal planning minister Ahsan Iqbal who said task forces must be formed to address the situation.

The survey found widespread micronutrient deficiencies among women especially in those pregnant — 51 per cent surveyed were anaemic; 46 per cent had vitamin A deficiency; 47.6 per cent had zinc deficiency; and 68.9 per cent had vitamin D deficiency. Anaemia was high at 50.4 per cent in other women too.

Among children under five, 43.7 per cent were stunted in 2011 as compared to 41.6 per cent in the 2001 National Nutrition Survey. Children under five also suffered from: anaemia-61.9 per cent; iron deficiency-43.8 per cent; vitamin-A deficiency- 54 per cent; and zinc deficiency 39.2 per cent. In the Saarc, Pakistan has the second highest stunting rate for children under five years- 43.7 per cent. About 32 per cent of the children were underweight. The elderly population too was not spared with over 53.9 per cent not having normal weight.

More than 30 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, the report said and the poorest 20 per cent earns 6.2 per cent of the total income. Most households spend almost half their income on food.

While the fertility rate is high, ante natal care is very low and in 2011, trained personnel attended only 39 per cent of the births. About 27, 963 households took part in the survey. The food security situation showed no signs of improvement since the last assessment. This revealed that 51 per cent of the population did not have food security and now the situation has deteriorated.

In focused group discussions, women said they lacked freedom to access medical care for themselves and their children unless their household decision maker allowed them to do so. In Balochistan, rural Sindh and southern Punjab, water and sanitation were major issues. Women also have a large amount of physical work to do even during pregnancy.

The key finding of this report is that very little has changed for the better in the last decade in terms of core maternal and childhood nutrition indicators though it does point towards gains in iodine status nationally after the implementation of a universal salt iodisation and promotion strategy. Though a draft nutrition strategy was developed in 2003-04 and approved by the planning commission, it was not implemented. In addition, the importance of nutrition has remained unrecognised in current social safety nets and income support programmes. Women and girls suffer particularly in the absence of effective intervention.

The problems reflect a combination of dietary deficiency, poor maternal and child health and nutrition, a high burden of morbidity and low micronutrient content of soil specially for iodine and zinc. These micronutrients have a profound effect on immunity, growth and mental development the report added. There is a Pakistan Poverty Reduction Strategy and the government has formed several committees to tackle this situation .

 

[Indrani]

Poverty has increased during period of economic growth, says economist - The Hindu

Required: A new poverty line that shows 67% of India is poor - Firstbiz

India’s Growing Urban Poverty Crisis | The Diplomat

These are the reports from just a few months ago. All of a sudden there is a desperate need among NGOs, International agencies, and our Sickulars to present themselves as saviors and redeemers of Indian poverty. Expect more and more institutions of ill repute to come up with more contrived data to negate their own assessments of a few months ago.