India gives up malnutrition gains of decades in last 5 years
Early data from latest survey indicates severe setbacks to malnutrition in India, with many states showing significant rise in malnutrition rates, often setting them back by years.
Data from the first phase of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) (2019-2020) says that the proportion of stunted children has risen in several of the 17 states and five Union territories surveyed, putting India at risk of reversing precious gains in child nutrition made over previous decades. Worryingly, that includes richer states like Kerala, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Himachal Pradesh. The share of underweight and wasted children has also gone up in the majority of the states. Between 2005-6 (NFHS-3) and 2015-16 (NFHS-4), India had remarkable success in reducing stunting from 48 pc to 38.4 pc.
However, over the last five years, a lot of these gains have been lost, at least in a number of states, especially the economically better off states like Maharashtra and Gujarat as well as high literacy state like Kerala. The reversals in survey occurred despite a relatively healthy economic growth, better sanitation & access to cooking fuel.