The Hindu : Karnataka News : Survey finds large number of malnourished children in Raichur

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 19, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Survey finds large number of malnourished children in Raichur

Staff Correspondent

It is as high as 68 per cent, says UNESCO report

The Department of Women and Child Welfare also conducted a survey in the district
Of the one lakh children surveyed, 32,295 had normal weight

Raichur: Children below 14 years in Raichur district have been facing severe nutritional problems. Malnutrition in children has touched a high of 68 per cent during the current fiscal. The figure may go up if steps are not taken to set right the anomalies found in the implementation of nutrition programmes by the district administration.

UNESCO team

The findings were from an official team of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), which conducted a survey to study nutritional problems among children below four years. The survey was conducted in all five taluks of the district. In its report which was submitted to the Union Government, UNESCO blamed the district administration for its failure to check malnutrition among children in the district and for the ineffective implementation of child welfare programmes by anganwadis.

Second survey

Following UNESCO’s report, the Department of Women and Child Welfare, here, also conducted a survey in the district in October to review the situation and submitted its report on the classification of nutritional status among children (infant stage to 14 years) to the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development.

Findings

According to its findings, of the 1 lakh children surveyed, 32,295 weighed a normal weight in the five taluks of the district. The remaining children were suffering from malnutrition. The health of 645 children was critical and that 76 was very critical.

Further, it found that malnutrition had claimed the lives of 76 children aged below one year and 11 children in the age group of 1 to 14.

Deaths

Out of the 76 children, 21 had died in Raichur taluk, 18 in Lingsugur taluk, 15 in Sindhanur taluk, 14 in Deodurga taluk and 8 in Manvi taluk.

Out of the 11 children who had died, 7 were from Lingsugur taluk, 3 from Manvi taluk and one from Sindhanur taluk. However, a group of about 32,415 children, who were identified under group G2 malnutrition, might recover if immediate steps are taken to treat them. But the condition of another 35,290, who were identified under (group G3) malnutrition, was critically low.

Ministry’s direction

The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, which made serious observations on the failure of the district administration in the proper implementation of child welfare programmes, has directed the district administration to take strict measures to recover the nutrition deficit among the identified group of children in the district.

‘Launch drive’

The Union Government has asked the district administration to streamline the managers of the child welfare programmes in the district, mainly the zilla panchayat, and to take up a special drive to check malnutrition among children and to implement nutrition programmes periodically to reduce the mortality rate of children in the district.

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