The urgent issue of child malnutrition in India has once again come under the spotlight. Recently, a report titled “Levels and trends in child malnutrition: Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates (JME)” was released by the UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), WHO (World Health Organization), and World Bank Group. The report highlighted that in 2020, 18.7% of Indian children were affected by Wasting, a condition triggered by inadequate nutrient intake.
What are Joint Malnutrition Estimates (JME)?
Formed in 2011 to standardize child Malnutrition estimates, the JME group focuses on providing annual estimates for child stunting, overweight, underweight, wasting, and severe wasting. Updated consistently by the UNICEF-WHO-WB inter-agency group, these global and regional estimates serve as indicators to describe the magnitude and patterns of under- and overnutrition. The 2023 Edition of Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates presents global and regional trends for all listed indicators along with country-level modelled estimates for stunting and overweight.
Key Report Findings
India is home to half of all children suffering from wasting globally. Out of the 45 million children under five years who were affected by wasting globally in 2022, 13.6 million were severely wasted. Majority of these children reside in Asia (78%) and Africa (22%).
Although India’s stunting rate has decreased from 41.6 % in 2012 to 31.7 % in 2022, the fact remains that 148.1 million children worldwide, under five years of age, were affected by stunting in 2022. The majority of them live in Asia and Africa.
Overweight is another concern among children under five years. In India, the percentage of overweight children has increased from 2.2 % in 2012 to 2.8 % in 2022.
Limited Progress Towards Global Nutrition Targets
Current outcomes indicate insufficient progress towards attaining the 2025 World Health Assembly (WHA) global nutrition targets and UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goal target 2.2. Despite these targets aiming at reducing stunting, anaemia among women, low-birthweight, childhood overweight, and maintaining childhood wasting to less than 5%, only about a third of all countries are on track for achieving them.
Report Recommendations
The report emphasizes on the need for early detection and timely treatment for children suffering from severe wasting. It also advocates for more intensive efforts to reduce the number of children with stunting to 89 million by 2030. Regular data collection is recommended for accurate assessment of progress towards global targets.
Understanding Malnutrition
Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and/or nutrients. Under-nutrition, which includes stunting, wasting, underweight, and micronutrient deficiencies, and Overweight and obesity, are two broad conditions covered under malnutrition.
Indian Initiatives Related to Malnutrition
India has initiated various programs to combat malnutrition like Mid-day Meal (MDM) scheme, POSHAN Abhiyaan, The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme and Aspirational District Programme.
Despite these efforts, questions about the effectiveness of human development policies in India persist. Many argue that concentrating solely on the lack of available food as the main cause of hunger diverts attention from inadequate human development policies.
