New Delhi: About 49 lakh wasted or low weight-for-height children under the age of five were found in the country in June this year, the Centre said on Wednesday (July 26). Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said as per data recorded in Poshan Tracker, prevalence of wasting among children under five years of age was found to be 7 per cent out of close to seven crore children measured in the country in the month of June itself. Minister Irani said in a written response to the question,
Out of which, 2.2 per cent children under five years of age were severely wasted, which is significantly lower than NFHS indicators.
As per the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 2019-21, the prevalence of wasting among children under five years of age is 19.3 in 6.1 lakh households, out of which 7.7 per cent children under five years of age are severely wasted (weight-for-height).
Wasting, defined as low weight-for-height, in children is a serious condition characterised by a rapid and severe loss of weight and muscle mass. It is one of the indicators used to assess and diagnose malnutrition in children.
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NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health,adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
