In light of the Planning Commission’s cruel joke of pegging the poverty level at an expenditure level of Thirty Rupees day, I wanted to bring our attention to a recent report compiled by Clifton D’Rozario in his capacity as an advisor  to the Commisioners on the right to food. The report may be downloaded from here

Extracts

Over the past few weeks the issue of child malnutrition in Karnataka, specifically Raichur, has come to the fore. It would not be inaccurate to suggest that the field reports carried out by the TV channel, TV9, has highlighted the issue at the State level. Between 8^th and 9^th October 2011, we visited few villages in Raichur district and one slum in Raichur city in regard to the malnutrition prevailing in the district. The impetus of the visit came from the renewed and intense media coverage around starvation deaths in Raichur following a TV expose, which likened malnutrition deaths in Raichur District to the conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa. TV-9 showed clippings of one particular child Anjeneya, over and over again. What was deeply tragic about the news clipping was the shame of seeing children in Karnataka with distended bellies and bony hands and feet, literally being carried around as they lacked the strength to walk. What added a sense of heartbreaking loss was that, the child was 5 years old and had been officially recognized as being severely malnourished as early as 2010. However the apathy of the state system was such that the child quietly slipped through the cracks and finally died ironically one day after TV9 made his image an iconic representation of the fate of malnourished children in Raichur district.

Malnutrition is the underlying cause of at least 50 per cent of deaths of children under five. Even if it does not lead to death, malnutrition, including micronutrient deficiencies, often leads to permanent damage, including impairment of physical growth and mental development. For example, iron, folic acid and iodine deficiencies can lead to brain damage, neural tube defects in the newborn and mental retardation.

The findings of the third National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) reveals an unacceptable prevalence of malnutrition in our children:

• 42.5% of our children under the age of five years are underweight (low weight for age)
• 48 % of our children are stunted (low height for age – chronically malnourished)
• 19.8 % of our children are wasted (low weight for height – acutely malnourished)
• In poorer states the situation is even worse with over 50 % of children underweight

The state of Malnutrition among children in Raichur district:

As pointed above the Advisor has repeatedly drawn the attention of the authorities and the State Government to the grave situation in Raichur district. Vide letters dated 12^th November 2010 and 29^th July 2011 the issue of malnutrition in Raichur district was brought to the attention of the Chief Secretary.

Between 8^th and 9^th October 2011, the Advisor visited few villages in Raichur district and one slum in Raichur city in regard to the malnutrition prevailing in the district. A copy of the report is placed as Annexure – 3.

Alarmingly since April 2009 to August 2011, 2689 malnourished children have died in the district of Raichur alone, and 4531 children are suffering from severe malnutrition. It is pertinent to note that all officials including the Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Sadananda Gowda have admitted the same. A copy of the information received from the Department of Women and Child Department is placed as Annexure – 4. As per the official statistics:

Details of deaths of malnourished children:

In our visit we came across incidents of deaths of children due to malnutrition, most notably in Malledervaragudda village where a brother and sister died within 1 ½ month of each other. The girl, Mahalaxmi was aged 2.2 years but weighed only 3.5 kgs while her elder brother Anjeneya was aged 5 years and weighed a mere 5 kgs.