The Hindu : Front Page : India has failed in childcare and nutrition, says Amartya Sen

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Wednesday, Dec 20, 2006
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India has failed in childcare and nutrition, says Amartya Sen

Parul Sharma

"Population of underweight children has not gone down"

Photo: R.V. Moorthy

FOR THEIR WELL-BEING: Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, flanked by Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia and actor-turned-social activist Shabana Azmi, releasing a report, "Focus on Children Under Six," at a seminar in New Delhi on Tuesday. —

NEW DELHI: Though India had made progress in the social and economic sectors it has failed in the field of childcare and nutrition, which is a "terrible" handicap for the country, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen said here on Tuesday.

"India is in a peculiar position today. While it has made substantial progress in certain areas, there have been major failures too. Nothing has been as dramatic as the failure to provide fair and just arrangement for the well-being and growing up of our children," said Prof. Sen at the Bal Adhikar Samvad - a national convention on children's rights.

Low immunisation

The noted economist pointed out that India had one of the highest prevalence of underweight children in the world.

Releasing a report `Focus on Children Under Six,' Prof. Sen said: "In the country as a whole, the population of underweight children has not gone down. Most of them are also anaemic. There have been other problems too. For instance, despite considerable immunisation progress in some States, the proportion of children who have not been immunised remains substantially high."

The report is based on a survey of the implementation of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) in six States in 2004. It talks about the well-being and rights of children under the age of six.

Prof. Sen said the authorities had to figure out why the scheme was doing well in certain places and fallen short of expectations elsewhere.

"We have to find effective ways and means to be able to make a radical change in the present situation and make the lives of our children more bearable. It is not just the Government's concern but every individual's concern."

Universal issues

Exhorting anganwadi workers to mobilise the community to address issues related to children, Magsaysay awardee Shanta Sinha said: "Surprisingly, there is no outrage or shock expressed in this country where so many children are dying. Children's issues are universal issues. Democracy is incomplete unless you talk about the rights of children."

Actor-turned-social activist Shabana Azmi said the success of the ICDS and other such national programmes was directly related to political will.

"Apart from money, the Central Government needs to ensure implementation of national schemes, especially in States which are not doing well. Training of anganwadi workers is also a must, so that they can effectively carry out the responsibilities entrusted to them."

Caste discrimination

University Grants Commission chairman Sukhdeo Thorat said there were some States where mid-day meals were "not being distributed to certain sections of society" due to caste discrimination.

"We must understand the nature of this discrimination and develop inclusive strategies to strengthen the Government schemes and hence our democracy."

Montek assures funds

Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the Government was "aware" of the importance of adequate nutrition for children's welfare and assured that more money would be allocated to the ICDS in the 11th Plan.

He said: "We have to admit that the ICDS is not doing well across the country and we need to evaluate that. Social sector development is of major concern and it will be addressed in the next Five Year Plan that we are formulating. "But it is not just the responsibility of the Central Government, the States too have their role to play," he said.

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