Lok Sabha Question No. 5605 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-26
Subject: Stunted Children
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: K. Subbarayan, M. Selvaraj

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5605 TO BE ANSWERED ON 26 TH JULY, 2019

## STUNTED CHILDREN

## 5605. SHRI SUBBARAYAN K.: SHRI M. SELVARAJ:

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is aware of a report prepared by the UN World Food Programme revealing that 31.4 per cent of Indian children will be stunted by 2032;

- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the measures being taken by the Government to improve the health of our children?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a)& (b):

No .

(c): Government  of  India  is implementing  various  interventions  to  improve  health  of  our children, under National Health Mission (NHM) a flagship scheme of Ministry of Health Family Welfare (MoHFW). These interventions are as follows:

- Promotion of Institutional deliveries through cash incentive under Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) and Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) which entitles all pregnant women delivering  in  public  health  institutions  to  absolutely  free  ante - natal  check - ups,  delivery including Caesarean section, post - natal care and treatment of sick infants till one year age.
- Strengthening of delivery points for providing comprehensive and quality Reproduct Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCHA) Services, ensuring essential newborn care at all d elivery points, establishment of Special Newborn Care Units (SNCU), Newborn Stabilization Units (NBSU) and Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) units for care of sick and small babies.
- Promotion of appropriate Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices that inc lude early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding till 6 months of age ASHA worker and health care provider at health facilities. In order to promote and s breastfeeding,  Government  has  implemented  ' MAA -Mothers'  Absolute  Affection' programme to improve breastfeeding coverage and appropriate breastfeeding practices the country.
- Micro- supplementation programmes for tackling micronutrient deficiency vulnerable age groups such as pregnant women, under - five children and dolescents.

among

- Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) for children till the age of 5 years.
- 'Anemia  Mukt  Bharat  (AMB)' for  supplementation  and  treatment  of  anaemia  in children, adolescents, pregnant and lactating women, and women of reproductive a group  in  progr amme  mode  through  life  cycle  approach.  This  involves,  bi - weekly IFA  syrup  supplementation  to  children  6 -59  months,  weekly  IFA  tablet supplementation to children 5 -10 years and adolescents 10 -19 years, and IFA tablets to pregnant and lactating women.
- Promotion for intake of iodised salt and monitoring salt quality through testing under National Iodine Deficiency Disorders Control Programme.
- National De - worming Day as a fixed day strategy to administer Albendazole tablets to the children in the age group of 1 - 9 years through the platform of AWCs and Schools which results in good nutritional outcomes and prevents anemia.
- Mission Indradhanush has been implemented with the objective to ensure high coverage children  with  all  vaccines  in  the  entire country  with  a  high  focus  on  the  reaching  the unreached districts and seeks to achieve 90% full immunization coverage of India by 2020.
- Prevention  of  childhood  illness  such  as  diarrheal  diseases  in  turn  prevents  chi malnutrition.  Control  of  chi ldhood  diarrhoea  is  being  carried  out  by  conducting  annual Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnights (IDCFs).
- Rashtriya  Bal  Swasthya  Karyakram  (RBSK)  provides  child  health  screening  for  30 common health conditions including nutritional status screening an d prov des free referral and treatment facilities for screened children.
- Village  Health  and  Nutrition  Days  and  Mother  and  Child  Protection  Card are the joint initiative of the Ministry of Health & Family  welfare and the Ministry of Woman Child Develop ment for addressing the nutrition concerns in children, pregnant women a lactating mothers. Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Days (VHNSDs) are month days held at village level in Anganwadi centre to increase the awareness and bring desired changes in the dietary practices including the promotion of breastfeeding thr group counseling sessions.
- Treatment of sick children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) at special units c the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs), set up at pu blic health facilities.
- Management of malnutrition and common neonatal and childhood illnesses at community and  facility  level  by  training  service  providers  in  IMNCI  (Integrated  Management Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses) training.
- Home Based New Bo rn Care (HBNC)  & Home Based Care for Young Child (HBYC) Programmes:  The  Ministry  of  Health  and  Family  Welfare  has  been  implementing  the Home Based Newborn Care (HBNC) programme since 2011 in which ASHAs provide scheduled  home  visits  to  newborns  starting  fr om  1st  day  till  42nd  days  of  life. Home Based Care for Young Children (HBYC) was launched in 2018 as an extension of HBNC to extend the community based care by ASHA workers till 15th month of life.

All these programs address one or other aspects related o h al h and nutrition and have the potential to improve health of our children.