Out Of 5.6 Crore Kids, 43 Lakh Found Malnourished By Poshan Tracker In February: Centre

New Delhi: About 43 lakh or 7.7 per cent children were found malnourished out of approximately 5.6 crore children measured by ‘Poshan Tracker’ in the month of February, the Ministry of Women and Child Development said on Friday (March 24). Responding to a question in Lok Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said Meghalaya reported the highest number of stunting at 46.5 per cent, while Puducherry recorded the lowest at 20 per cent.

Also Read: Odisha Makes Provision Of Rs 250 Crore To Address Malnutrition Issues

Maharashtra reported the highest level of wasted children at 25.6 per cent, while Chandigarh reported the minimum at 8.4 per cent, according to the data shared in a written response. Child wasting refers to a child who is too thin for his or her height and is the result of recent rapid weight loss or the failure to gain weight. A child who is moderately or severely wasted has an increased risk of death, but treatment is possible.

The data also said that Bihar reported the maximum percentage of children who are underweight, while Mizoram reported the minimum percentage at 12.7 per cent. Ms Irani noted that under Poshan Tracker — the ICT application for monitoring service delivery under Mission Poshan 2.0 — out of approximately 5.6 crore children measured in the month of February 2023, the percentage of malnourished (moderate and severe) children is 7.7 per cent.

The 7.7 per cent of malnourished children comes to 43,12,000.

Also Read: More Than 1.25 Lakh Children In Gujarat Malnourished: Government Tells Assembl

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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 – the LGBTQ 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 current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) 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, fight malnutrition, 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 like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.