In Rajasthan, 40% children underweight, 44% anaemic

HEALTH CONCERN Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey shows malnutrition, anaemia continue to plague state

JAIPUR: Despite efforts to tackle malnutrition in Rajasthan, 40.9 percent children under five years are underweight and 44.4 percent are anaemic, according to the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey.

The survey report reveals that 26 percent children aged 5-9 years and 36.8 percent children aged 10-19 years are underweight in the state.

The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) report is the first national nutrition survey covering 112,316 pre-schoolers, school-age children and adolescents in rural and urban areas across 30 states.

The CNNS provides national and state-level representative data for nutritional status and micronutrient deficiencies among children and adolescents from birth to 19 years and estimates of biomarkers for noncommunicable diseases among those aged 5-19 years.

As per the survey report, Rajasthan ranks 22 among 30 states in prevalenswce of underweight children in the under-5 year category. In this category, 31.5 percent children are underweight and 9.4 percent are severely underweight.

The survey shows that Jharkhand has the highest number of underweight children at 42.9 percent, followed by Chhattisgarh at 40 percent and Bihar at 38.7 percent.

With regard to stunting, 36.8 percent children under 5 years are stunted and 13.2 percent are severely stunted in the state.

As per the report, Bihar has the highest rate of stunting at 42 percent, followed by Meghalaya at 40.4 percent and Madhya Pradesh at 39.5 percent.

Children are defined as stunted when their height is lower for their age.

If the height-for-age is more than two standard deviations below the WHO Child Growth Standards median, then a child is categorised as stunted.

With regard to wasting, 14.3 percent children under 5 years are wasted and 3.6 percent are severely wasted in Rajasthan which ranks at 13th spot among the 30 states. Jharkhand has the highest rate of wasting at 29.1 percent followed by Tamil Nadu at 21 percent and West Bengal at 20.1 percent.

Wasting means when the child is low weight for height. Wasting is a strong predictor of mortality among children under five. It is caused by acute food shortage.

In the 5-9 years age group, Rajasthan again ranks high on malnutrition. The report shows that 22.1 percent children are underweight and 3.9 percent are severely underweight.

The survey shows that 23 percent of children are stunted and 6.1 percent are severely stunted.

In the 5-9 years category, Rajasthan has a mean score of -1.3 which is among the highest in the 30 states. Only Jharkhand with a mean score of -1.5 and Madhya Pradesh and Bengal with a mean score of -1.4 are higher than Rajasthan.

For the 10-19 years age group, 29.3 percent children are underweight and 7.5 percent are severely underweight. Here too Rajasthan has a mean score of -1.4 which is the highest among the 30 states.

Anaemia, too, continues to be a cause of worry for Rajasthan. In the 1-4 year age group, iron deficiency is 44.4 percent and Rajasthan ranks 21 of 30 states. Punjab has the highest iron deficiency at a shocking 67.2 percent followed by Haryana at 58.9 percent and Gujarat at 5.7 percent.

In the 5-9 years age group, Rajasthan ranks 29 of 30 states with 39 percent children being anaemic. Here too Punjab is at the top with 50.9 percent children being iron deficient. Gujarat is at 28th spot with 37.9 percent children being anaemic.

The picture is as dismal among the 10-19 year olds. Here too, Punjab tops with 45.3 percent children being iron deficient, followed by Rajasthan at 35.1 percent and Gujarat at 35 percent.

In Rajasthan, the CNNS was conducted from October 18, 2016 to January 3, 2017 and gathered household and anthropometry data from 12221,277 and 1,217 and biological samples from 445, 674 Children under 5 who are stunted

Children under 5 Severely stunted

Children under 5 who are wasted

Children under 5

Severely wasted

Children under 5 who are underweight Children under 5

Severely underweight "Children aged 5-9 years who are moderate or severely thin "

"Children aged 5-9 years who are severely thin" "Adolescents aged

10-19 years who are moderate or severely thin" "Adolescents aged

10-19 years who are severely thin"

Prevalence of anaemia

33.1%

40.6

14.6

14.8

4.2

33.2

9.5

22.5

4.3

35.1

10.7

26%

and 639 children aged 0-4 years (1-4 years for biological sample), 5-9 years, and adolescents aged 10-19 years, respectively.

The CNNS was conducted in the overall guidance of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Technical Advisory Committee designated by the ministry and in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).

K K Pathak, secretary, women and child development depart

32.4

11.5

13.8

3.1

29.5

9.4

21.5

3.4

23.6

4.3 Prevalence of anaemia - Males

35.3%

24.9

6.6

13.1

1.6

23.7

7.4

19.3

4.3

23.4

6.5

20.4%

39.6

14.7

14.6

4.1

33.3

9.9

22.7

3.8

30.8

7.7 ment, said the government is planning to introduce some changes in the format of Poshahar scheme to make it more focused and effective.

“Currently we are giving hot, cooked meals to children from 3-6 years in anganwadis. We are working on a plan to make the meals more nutritious,” he said.

A similar proposal is under consideration for pregnant women and lactating mothers. Currently they are given take Prevalence of anaemia - Females

30.7%

40.1%

home ration which consists of multi-grain flour which is nutritious for the women.

“There have been cases where women don’t take the ration due to concerns over its quality or due to the taste. We are studying models adopted in other states so as to address these concerns,” he said.

Pathak said around 30-40 percent children in the state are malnourished while 7-8 percent children have severe acute malnutrition.