Context: Policy attention is focused on economic growth while we need to address the issue of malnutrition.
Poor state of Hunger and Malnutrition in India:
Decline in food consumption: The 2017-18 consumption survey of the National Statistical Office reveals that there has been a real decline in food consumption between 2011-12 and 2017-18.
Consumption also got hit due to the pandemic induced economic slowdown – leading to a decline in wages and incomes and declining employment.
The Hunger Watch survey by the Right to Food campaign across 11 Indian states reported declines in the quality and quantity of food consumed.
Deterioration of child malnutrition: National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019 shows deterioration on several indicators of child malnutrition over the NFHS-4 for 2015-16.
Except for Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim, all states have seen at least one indicator of child malnutrition worsen between 2015-16 and 2019-20.
Suspended schools have compromised Mid-day meals in primary and upper primary schools as a supplementary measure to tackle malnutrition.
Child stunting: Of 22 states/ Union Territories (UTs), 13 have seen an increase in childhood stunting between NFHS-4 and NFHS-5.
Wasting: Wasting has increased in 12 out of 22 states , and the count of those underweight has gone up in 16 of them.
Way Forward:
Extend additional food grain handouts: Holding excess food stocks (80 million tonnes, as against buffer norm of 21.4 million tonnes (in 2020)) is tragic, in spite of rising hunger and malnutrition.
India should extend its scheme of additional food-grain handouts and make it universally accessible.