Opinion: When Will Centre Understand That India's Malnutrition Problem Is Real?

This fortnight's column is on a subject that will never make the 9 o'clock news: Malnourishment. 

In 2012, Gujarat was grappling with one of the highest numbers of underweight children in the country. When asked about this alarming statistic in an interview to the Wall Street Journal, then Chief Minister Narendra Modi had a bizarre explanation: "If a mother tells her daughter to have milk, they'll have a fight. She'll tell her mother, 'I won't drink milk. I'll get fat.' They have money but she's beauty conscious, she's not health conscious." 

It's been a decade since the Chief Minister became the Prime Minister. The same behavioural pattern persists. Is this what medical professionals refer to as AVPD (Avoidant Personality Disorder) - a condition where a person is extremely sensitive to criticism? Are you surprised then that in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government's '100-day agenda' and the Finance Minister's Budget Speech, the words "hunger" and "nutrition" were not mentioned even once! 

Here are the harsh realities: 
●    One out of three of the world's malnourished children live in India. The percentage of people suffering from chronic hunger rose from 10% in 2014-16 to almost 14% in 2021-23 - an increase of five crore people.

●    Income inequality, inflation, and unemployment have left 70% of Indians unable to afford a basic, healthy diet. A home-cooked veg-thali costs 8% more year on year. Annually, 17 lakh Indians die from diseases related to insufficient food intake.

●    The Global Nutrition Report 2024 says, "No progress has been made by India towards achieving the target of reducing anaemia among women of reproductive age. Meanwhile, there is insufficient data to assess the progress that India has made towards achieving the low birth weight target, nor is there adequate prevalence data. India has made no progress towards achieving the target for wasting, with 17% of children under 5 years of age affected. This is higher than the average for the Asia region and among the highest in the world."

●    Even if the Indian government disputes the findings of a report prepared by five international organisations, its own National Family Health Survey paints a disturbing picture of the country's nutrition status: 32% children are underweight, 35% children are stunted, and 59% children under the age of five years, and 53% women are anaemic. 

●    The state that has a massive cricket stadium named after the Prime Minister, is ranked among the bottom four states in the country in tackling hunger. (Source: NITI Aayog's 2023-24 report) 

●    Varanasi, the constituency Narendra Modi represents in Parliament, recorded a 13% prevalence of children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). (Source: National Family Health Survey)

●    Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have topped the list for the highest number of children under five years with medical complications in Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres. Sadly, these numbers have doubled in the last three years.

●    More than 10 lakh people suffer from sickle cell anaemia, a disease primarily prevalent in tribal populations, largely due to malnutrition. 

●    14 lakh children are severely malnourished in the country, according to the Union government's Poshan Tracker. These children are also nine times more likely to die due to their weakened immune system. 

●    Over the last few years, the reduction in food subsidies has created a ripple effect on nutritional security across the country. The Ministry of Women and Child Development saw a marginal 2.5% increase in the 2024-25 Union Budget. Additionally, the revolutionary Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and the mid-day meal programme faced a budget cut of 2%, jeopardising the nutritional support for millions of children.

During the Lok Sabha elections this year, one of Narendra Modi's colleagues in the Cabinet, the former Minister of Women and Child Development, declared, "Governance is a continuous effort. Health and nutrition are left for states to deliver." Seriously! Uttar Pradesh tops the list in zero-food children. Madhya Pradesh allocates a meagre Rs 12 daily to tackle malnutrition. An elderly disabled woman crawls in Odisha to collect her pension and rations. 

When will this government step out of the constructed silos of illusion that claim malnutrition is a myth in India?

(Derek O'Brien, MP, leads the Trinamool Congress in the Rajya Sabha)

Research credit: Anagha

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author