India cannot help being a land of extremes while on the one hand has pretensions to being an emerging economic giant on the other it has the dubious distinction of having one of the world’s highest child malnutrition levels. The death of more than 5000 children every day due to this scourge mocks al the fact that the country today produces enough food grains even for export. That is an unfortunate sequel to the 63 per cent malnutrition level among children a full 33 percent more than what India can sustain at the present level of the GDP. Even if it is considered that UNICEF which has brought these shocking facts to light applies western standards to judge what constitutes a healthy diet the death of over 18 lakh children every year is a shame and stigma considering that even poorer countries like Bangladesh Pakistan Mauritania Nigeria Niger and Uganda have done better than it Female children are worse off. The crisis is a cumulative effect of both chronic poverty and policy failure. The public distribution system which is considerably skewed is partly responsible. Obviously the benefits of various much-trumpeted welfare schemes are yet to trickle down to the grass roots even 47 years after Independence. Most deaths occur not only due to hunger but also because of stunted growth infectious diseases irreversible disabilities and abnormally low weight al birth. It has been nearly 20 years since the ambitious Integrated Child Development Services Scheme was launched but nutritional deficiencies are the lot of 80% of the nation’s children. That is not quite unexpected ma country where even drinking water is a luxury for a majority.
Yes the infant mortality rate has come down but many of the surviving children are condemned to remain far below their genetic potential As the UNICEF Progress of Nations report has pointed out there is no automatic link between a country economic level and the well-being of its people Political will social mobilization and society’s wish to place emphasis on this area count just as much if not more Sadly India has been found wanting on these counts. Progress has been made no doubt but that is only in patches. Facilities like supplementary nutrition immunization and preschool education have yet to benefit a large section of the rural poor Gandhi’s India lived in vile luges Todays India lives ins turns shanties and pavement settlements as well As long as these street children have to rummage through purifying organic matter former sets of food all schemes of raising the general nutritional standard will continue to get stalled.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 15, 1994
