India Untouched

A Times Of India report summary


NEW DELHI: India is failing its rural poor with 230 million people being undernourished. Malnutrition accounts for nearly 50% of child deaths in India and every third adult is reported to be thin. According to the latest report on the state of food insecurity in rural India, more than 1.5 million children are at risk of becoming malnourished because of rising global food prices. Foodgrain harvest during 2008-09 is estimated to be a record 228 million tonnes. However, the requirement for the national population would exceed 250 million tonnes by 2015.
India ranks 94th in the Global Hunger Index of 119 countries, the report said.
Brought out by the United Nations World Food Program, the report points to some staggering figures. More than 27% of the world's undernourished population lives in India while 43% of children, under 5, in the country are underweight. The figure is among the highest in the world and is much higher than the global average of 25% and also higher than sub-Saharan Africa's figure of 28%. More than 70% of children suffer from anaemia and 80% of them don't get vitamin supplements. According to the report, the proportion of anaemic children has actually increased by 6% in the past six years with 11 out of 19 states having more than 80% of its children suffering from anaemia. Percentage of women with chronic energy deficiency is stagnant at 40% over six years with the proportion in fact increasing in Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana during the same period. The report also questioned the government's definitions of hunger and poverty. "The fact that calorie deprivation is increasing during a period when the proportion of rural population below the poverty line is claimed to be declining rapidly, highlights the increasing disconnect between official poverty estimates and calorie deprivation," it said.
Almost 80% of rural households do not have access to toilets within their premises. The figure exceeds 90% in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and MP.
The proportion of stunted children at 48% is again among the highest in the world. Every second child in the country is stunted, according to the health ministry's figures. Around 30% of babies in India are born underweight