A malnourished child at a community health center in Baran District in Rajasthan. Sanjay Rawat/Outlook
The Challenge Of Acute Malnutrition
Treating Severely Acute Malnourished children must be the first priority of healthcare workers
The National Family Health Survey of 2019-20 (NFHS 5) data for 17 states and 5 Union Territories, India, released last month, reflects a rise in malnutrition numbers among children. As per the data, wasting (acute malnutrition) has been on the rise for children in 12 states, and this is a definite cause of panic.
Consider that this is partial data, and the survey was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown i.e. before 9.17 crore children in 11.35 lakh schools lost access to mid-day meals and many more found themselves without food as their guardians lost their livelihood. This is a cause for alarm.