The truth of ‘Malnutrition Free’ Madhya Pradesh (India)Category: Social Issues
Article posted by: sachin jain
Reference- Report of latest National Family Health Survey-III data, released by GoI in December 2006
NFHS-III reveals.......
The truth of ‘Malnutrition Free’ Madhya Pradesh (India)
Sachin Kumar Jain
In the first week of October 2006, the enquiry committee constituted by Commissioners of Supreme Court to investigate the Hunger and Malnutrition deaths, while their visit to the most back ward primitive tribal group SAHERIYA dominated villages of Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh (one of the 3 biggest state if India) found four children in Ranipur village – Bansi, Sonu, Sukhlal and Kiran – as severely malnourished. The district administration was immediately directed to provide medical facility, proper care and nutrition to these children right on spot at the village, but after a month it was found that all the four children had succumbed owing to lack of treatment and nutrition. And it is not a coincidence that within a month, the tag of MP as the most malnourished state became stronger.
The question is not only of statistics that what is the exact number of malnourished children is there in Madhya Pradesh and How many are dying every bay but the bitter truth behind them is much important for all of us. The fact that in the race of bright and shining development, we are trampling upon out children. The truth is bitterer for Madhya Pradesh since during a period that the state was getting awards and recognition for progress and development, the National Family Health Survey III highlighted the fact that during last eight years (1998-2006), the percent of malnourished children had increased by a serious five percent. Owing to dearth of nutritious food, health facilities and family food insecurity, the percent of malnutrition (underweight) increased from 54% to 60.3%. It’s not the end of the story. It also says that only 14% children under the age of 3 Years breastfed within one hour of Birth and 82.6% of Children between the age of 6-35 Months (the most critical period of life for mental and physical development) are anemic. On the other hand on the basis of their own data, Government of Madhya Pradesh has been claiming that the ration of Undernourishment has come down to somewhere around 49% but field realities, (like Sheopur) do not support State claims.
In Bal Adhikar Samvad convention on 19th December in New Delhi, Nobel Prize winner and eminent welfare economist Prof. Amartya Sen said “It is now clearly established reality that even after gaining high growth rate and increasing per capita income, we have failed to protect our children from Hunger and Diseases. I feel the question of resources is not the biggest one, a lot of money is being spent but the situation is not improving in accordance with the expenditure because our system delivery systems are worst, un-accountable and non-responsive towards the most marginalized like Children”. And in Sen’s response Vice-Chairman of Planning Commission of India, Montek Singh Ahluwalia acknowledged the facts pointed out by Amartya Sen and said that there is need to change the system and develop the sense of responsibility towards Children. He didn’t forget mentioning the ongoing tussle between State and Central Governments by saying that we can give money and State Governments have to ensure the results. Now it is a transparent truth in the era of Globalization that Governments will not play for Children, they will not follow the Obligations (Respect, Protect, and Fulfill) of the Welfare State, State will just facilitate the Process {owned and controlled by the powerful}. That is what happened in Madhya Pradesh, when NFHS-III data came out. Principle Secretary of Women and Child Development, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Prashant Mehta in his statement said that “We don’t agree with the NFHS data, Malnutrition has decreased in MP and we will go for a separate and independent study”. It means State Government has questioned the most reliable source of information and technique, because it is done by the Central Government and genuinely questioning their efforts.
Those people who think that malnutrition in general has no relation with wider aspects of society should well understand that unless the physical and mental abilities of children develop properly, industrialization would not be fruitful and the dream of 8-10 pc of development rate could not be fulfilled. The saddest part is that most seriously malnutrition hit areas and communities reside in MP. On other hand, malnutrition decreased by ten percent in Maharashtra, seven percent in Rajasthan, nine percent by Chhattisgarh and five percent in Uttar Pradesh.
NFHS – 3 reveals increase in Malnutrition status in Madhya Pradesh (in percentage)
Stunted Wasted Underweight Change
State NFHS-II NFHS-III NFHS-II NFHS-III NFHS-II NFHS-III-
Madhya Pradesh 49 40 20 33 54 60.3 +6.3
Utter Pradesh 56 46 11 14 52 43 -9
Rajasthan 52 34 12 20 51 44 -7
Chattisgarh 58 45 19 18 61 52 -9
Maharashtra 40 38 21 15 50 40 -10
Gujrat 44 42 16 17 45 47 +2
In Madhya Pradesh status of Malnutrition has increased by 6.3% and now it has gone up to 60.3%, highest in the Country
This survey was conducted by the India Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR), Jaipur on behalf of IIPS and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare during the period of April to August 2006.
#Source – National Family Health Survey (NFHS - 3), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
# NFHS II was conducetd in the year 1998-99 and NFHS III took place in the year 2006.
# In last column you will find percentage change in situation.
It is not that malnutrition problem was not serious earlier, but like other aspects of child rights, this was also neglected because children are neither vote banks nor they can sit in Dharna before the state assembly to demand their rights. However, the discrepant development policies have put these children on continuing hunger strike. There was a hope that people's representatives would take up the matter in democratic forums (Parliament and Assembly) to make policies towards giving rights to children in honorable manner, but during last five years these houses gave only 0.3 percent time to these issues and only 77 questions were raised. Not once was any ruckus created in these houses on the issue of malnutrition among children.
It becomes a matter of analysis that when it is being claimed all round that development is happening in all spheres, why is the situation of malnutrition becoming graver by the day.
Some unprejudiced time spent in urban and rural areas can give you a clear picture of the situation. The most important answer is that the food security and health rights for children have never been considered central issues of mainstream development. The government though it did enough by running the Integrated Child Development Scheme, but the truths of even this scheme is quite bitter. Between years 2001 and 2005, the women and child department was allotted budget of Rs 1685.64 crores of which only 1210.34 crores was spent, which means that Rs 475.30 could not be spent at all. Thus of five years, budget worth two years could not be spent. Analysis show that for the 1.06 crores in state, Rs 6500 crores are needed for nutrition and pre-school education, Rs 125 crores for maintenance of anganbadis and Rs 650 crores for the new anganbadis. IF the government has to show its sensitivity towards children, it would have to make the budget for children four fold instead of providing free land of multinational companies.
It is sad that only 23 percent children in state are registered in anganbadis, which means that let alone reaching common children; the state has not yet reached the malnourished children. The situation is made clear by the report of Comptroller Auditor General of India that says that the schemes do not reach 52-62 percent children and 46 to 59 percent pregnant and lactating mothers.
The vigilance and monitoring system has totally collapsed. The lack of political commitment towards malnutrition and children can be seen clearly. When the community itself is not interested in dialogue on the issue, only the government cannot be held responsible for the increasing sphere of malnutrition.
After the National Family Health Survey II, the state government launched the Bal Sanjeevani Scheme in year 2001 for the identification of malnourished children, but it has remained restricted to taking weight of children. Even presently, more than 50000 settlements and villages have no anganbadis where neither nutritious food reaches regularly, nor do any educational activities for children are conducted. It is true that the state and the central governments are face to face now over the malnutrition scene. On the basis of Bal Sanjeevani Campaign, the state government claims that the malnutrition has reduced to 49 percent and the basis is survey of 70 lakh children. But since these children are not receiving nutritious food or health services, questions arise on the claims of reduction of malnutrition.
The state government should try to ensure that the issue of malnutrition does not become controversial. Normally the government accepts all those studies that are in its favour, but when they are negative, they simply reject it. When the Government of India on the basis of survey of 365 maternal deaths in Chhattisgarh announced in October that the Maternal Mortality rate in state had reduced from 498 per lakh childbirth to 379, the state government had patted it own back, but when it was claimed that the malnutrition had gone up (on basis of study of 9152 persons), the government rejected the study.
The lack of political commitment is evident from the experiences like the fact that the Gram Sabha and the panchayats have the right to give suggestions for the proper functioning of the anganbadis but the rights to accept or reject these suggestions are with the officers. The panchayats are expected to oversee the distribution of nutritious food at anganbadis after they reach there, but they have no involvement in the fact that nine months out of 12, the nutritious food does not reach the villages at all.
How can malnutrition be removed from one of the most malnourished district when the 187 anganbadi workers in the district have not received their meager honorariums since 16 to 28 months and the amount meant for the oil, combs, medicines and toys for the children are being siphoned off.
The issue is not restricted to number of anganbadis and nutritious food. After a point of time, malnutrition becomes an issue of health but in Madhya Pradesh, the health department seems to be playing practically no role in this matter. Right from ANMs to the highest-level policy makers in health sector, no one is ready to get involved in the matter, but whenever a child dies of malnutrition they put in a name of a disease as cause of death and issue the death certificates.
This analysis has to be looked at separately from the government scheme of nutritious food. The average food production in Madhya Pradesh has been over the national average so it's an irony that the poor and deprived people are not getting this food. Also before the implementation of the Employment Guarantee Scheme, the people used to get only three to five days of employment per year. The poor families only manage to get 48 kgs of food grains per year from the public distribution system. Malnutrition is directly related to the issue of food security of a family. If the families do not get the benefits of the public welfare schemes and secure livelihood, then the problem of malnutrition cannot be curbed.
Since it is now evident that malnutrition is on the rise in state rather than decreasing, the state government should accept that it has failed to take people-oriented initiatives as regards public welfare scheme and secure livelihood. We shouldn't consider as government only those who are in power but all those who are elected people's representatives because all of them are involved in policy making and monitoring of situation. The society would also have to accept its responsibility in the matter as the silence of the society is making the problem worse.
E7-226, Ist Floor, Arera Colony, Opp. Dhanvantri Complex, Shahpura, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. 0755-4252789, 09827361019, sachinwrites@gmail.com
Posted By: sachin jain
Contact: e-mail
| About the Author: |
| Sachin Kumar Jain is a development journalist, working in Madhya Pradesh, India. He has written extensively on the issues of Malnutrition, Poverty, Food Insecurity, Hunger, Maternal Health and Tribal issues. |
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