Lok Sabha Question No. 902 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-11-29
Subject: Stunting and Wasting Among Children
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri S Venkatesan, Shri Subbarayan K, Shri Dileshwar Kamait, Com. Selvaraj V

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 902

TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.11.2024

## STUNTING AND WASTING AMONG CHILDREN

902.    SHRI S VENKATESAN:

SHRI SUBBARAYAN K:

SHRI DILESHWAR KAMAIT:

COM. SELVARAJ V:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has any data on under nourishment among women, stunting, wasting and under weight among children;
- (b) if so, the details thereof indicating the number and percentage of women and children affected by the said deficiencies, State/UT-wise;
- (c) whether the Government has conducted any study of the economic, social and gender determinants among the stunted, wasted and underweight children;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (e) the details of the efforts made by the Government to address the increasing incidents of stunting?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR)

(a) and (b) Details of anaemia and Body Mass Index (BMI) among women are released under National Family Health Survey (NFHS), which is periodically conducted by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. The report of NFHS-5 is available on National Family  Health  Survey  portal  (http://nfhsiips.in/nfhsuser/publication.php).  As  per  the report, 18.7% of Women of reproductive age group (15-49 years) have Body Mass Index (BMI) below normal (BMI <18.5 kg/m 2 ) and 57% women of reproductive age group (15-49 years) are anaemia.  The  details of State wise prevalence of anaemia among all women aged 15-49 years are placed at Annexure I.

State wise details of malnourished children in the country are at Annexure-II.

(c) to (e) In 2021, the World Bank has conducted a survey in 11 priority states (Andhra Pradesh,  Bihar,  Chhattisgarh,  Gujarat,  Jharkhand,  Karnataka,  Madhya  Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh) with the highest rates of anemia and stunting. The aim of this survey was to assess the program's delivery of nutrition services, whether the nutritional knowledge of beneficiaries had improved and if they had adopted more appropriate nutrition and feeding practices.

The findings demonstrated that the services delivered through the Poshan Abhiyaan -  the  receipt  of  relevant  messages,  home  visits  by  the  anganwadi  worker,  and attendance at  community  based  events  -  were  associated  with  improved  nutrition behaviors. The survey also found that the program's nutrition messages reached more than 80% of women, and that 81% of women practiced exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months.

Anganwadi services, Poshan Abhiyaan and Scheme for Adolescent girls (14-18 years in Aspirational Districts and North-East region) were subsumed under the umbrella Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0) during the 15th Finance  Commission  to  address  the  challenge  of  malnutrition  through  improved nutrition  content  and  delivery.  This  is  a  self-selecting  (no  entry  barriers)  scheme available to all the eligible beneficiaries who enroll at the Anganwadi Centers (AWCs) and is being implemented in all States/UTs across the country.

Under Mission Poshan 2.0 a new strategy has been made for reduction in malnutrition and  for  improved  health,  wellness  and  immunity  through  activities  like  community engagement,  outreach,  behavioral  change,  and  advocacy.  It  focuses  on  Maternal Nutrition,  Infant  and  Young  Child  Feeding  Norms,  treatment  of  Severe  Acute Malnutrition (SAM)/ Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) and wellness through AYUSH practices to reduce prevalence of wasting, stunting, anaemia and being underweight.

Under this scheme, Supplementary Nutrition is provided to Children (6 months to 6 years),  Pregnant  Women,  Lactating  Mothers  and  Adolescent  Girls  to  beat  the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition by adopting a life cycle approach. Supplementary nutrition is provided in accordance with the nutrition norms contained in Schedule-II of the National Food Security Act. These norms have been revised and upgraded last year. The old norms were largely calorie-specific; however, the revised norms are more comprehensive and balanced in terms of both quantity and quality of supplementary nutrition based on the principles of diet diversity that provides quality protein, healthy fats and micronutrients.

Fortified rice is being supplied to AWCs to meet the requirement of micro-nutrients and to control anaemia among women and children. Greater emphasis is being laid on the use of millets for preparation of Hot Cooked Meal at least once a week and Take Home ration at Anganwadi centers.

Ministries of Women & Child Development and Health & Family Welfare have jointly released the protocol for Community Management of Malnutrition (CMAM) to prevent and treat severely acute malnutrition in children and for reducing associated morbidity and mortality.

Under  Mission  Poshan  2.0,  one  of  the  major  activities  undertaken  is  Community Mobilization and Awareness Advocacy leading to Jan Andolan to educate people on nutritional aspects. State and UTs are conducting and reporting regular sensitisation activities  under  community  engagement  programmes  during  Poshan  Maahs  and Poshan  Pakhwadas  celebrated  in  the  months  of  September  and  March-April respectively. Community Based Events (CBEs) have served as a significant strategy in changing nutritional practices and all Anganwadi workers are required to conduct two Community Based Events every month.

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## Annexure-I

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a  and  b)  OF  LOK  SABHA QUESTION NO. 902 FOR 29.11.2024 REGARDING 'STUNTING AND WASTING AMONG CHILDREN' ASKED BY SHRI S VENKATESAN, SHRI SUBBARAYAN K, SHRI DILESHWAR KAMAIT AND COM. SELVARAJ V

State-wise Prevalence of Anemia among Women aged 15-49 years in the Country (Source: NFHS 2019-21)

| State/UT                  |   All women age 15-49 years who are anaemic (%) |
|---------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands |                                            57.5 |
| Andhra Pradesh            |                                            58.8 |
| Arunachal Pradesh         |                                            40.3 |
| Assam                     |                                            65.9 |
| Bihar                     |                                            63.5 |
| Chandigarh                |                                            60.3 |
| Chhattisgarh              |                                            60.8 |
| DNH& DD                   |                                            62.5 |
| Goa                       |                                            39   |
| Gujarat                   |                                            65   |
| Haryana                   |                                            60.4 |
| Himachal Pradesh          |                                            53   |
| Jammu & Kashmir           |                                            65.9 |
| Jharkhand                 |                                            65.3 |
| Karnataka                 |                                            47.8 |
| Kerala                    |                                            36.3 |
| Ladakh                    |                                            92.8 |
| Lakshadweep               |                                            25.8 |
| Madhya Pradesh            |                                            54.7 |
| Maharashtra               |                                            54.2 |
| Manipur                   |                                            29.4 |
| Meghalaya                 |                                            53.8 |

| Mizoram       |   34.8 |
|---------------|--------|
| Nagaland      |   28.9 |
| Nct Of Delhi  |   49.9 |
| Odisha        |   64.3 |
| Puducherry    |   55.1 |
| Punjab        |   58.7 |
| Rajasthan     |   54.4 |
| Sikkim        |   42.1 |
| Tamil Nadu    |   53.4 |
| Telangana     |   57.6 |
| Tripura       |   67.2 |
| Uttar Pradesh |   50.4 |
| Uttarakhand   |   42.6 |
| West Bengal   |   71.4 |

Annexure -II

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a  and  b)  OF  LOK  SABHA QUESTION NO. 902 FOR 29.11.2024 REGARDING 'STUNTING AND WASTING AMONG CHILDREN' ASKED BY SHRI S VENKATESAN, SHRI SUBBARAYAN K, SHRI DILESHWAR KAMAIT AND COM. SELVARAJ V

The State wise details of malnourished children (0 - 5 years) enrolled in Anganwadis across the country are as follows*:

| State             |   Stunted% |   Wasted% |   Underweight% |
|-------------------|------------|-----------|----------------|
| Andhra Pradesh    |       22.6 |       5.3 |           10.8 |
| Arunachal Pradesh |       32.8 |       4.2 |            9.6 |
| Assam             |       42.4 |       3.8 |           16.4 |
| Bihar             |       43.8 |       9.2 |           22.9 |
| Chhattisgarh      |       21.5 |       7   |           13.1 |
| Goa               |        4.1 |       0.6 |            1.7 |
| Gujarat           |       40.8 |       7.8 |           21   |
| Haryana           |       28.2 |       4.1 |            8.7 |
| Himachal Pradesh  |       18.4 |       1.7 |            6.3 |
| Jharkhand         |       43.8 |       6.2 |           19.3 |
| Karnataka         |       39.7 |       3.2 |           17.1 |
| Kerala            |       34.4 |       2.3 |            9.5 |
| Madhya Pradesh    |       46.5 |       7   |           26.5 |
| Maharashtra       |       47.7 |       4.1 |           16.5 |
| Manipur           |        7.7 |       0.3 |            2.6 |
| Meghalaya         |       18.2 |       0.4 |            4.5 |
| Mizoram           |       26.7 |       2.3 |            5.9 |
| Nagaland          |       28   |       5.3 |            6.6 |
| Odisha            |       29.1 |       2.9 |           12.8 |
| Punjab            |       18.4 |       3   |            5.9 |
| Rajasthan         |       36.6 |       5.5 |           17.7 |

| Sikkim                             |   9.2 |   1.5 |   1.7 |
|------------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|
| Tamil Nadu                         |  13.4 |   3.6 |   7.1 |
| Telangana                          |  32.6 |   5.6 |  16.2 |
| Tripura                            |  40.5 |   6.3 |  16.6 |
| Uttar Pradesh                      |  48   |   3.9 |  19.4 |
| Uttarakhand                        |  21   |   1.5 |   5.4 |
| West Bengal                        |  38   |   7.5 |  13   |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands          |   8.7 |   2.3 |   3.9 |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli - Daman & Diu |  35.9 |   3.4 |  16.1 |
| Delhi                              |  41.9 |   3   |  20.6 |
| J&K                                |  12.1 |   0.7 |   3   |
| Ladakh                             |  11   |   0.2 |   2   |
| Lakshadweep                        |  46.5 |  11.9 |  25.1 |
| Puducherry                         |  40.2 |   6.8 |  13   |
| UT-Chandigarh                      |  26.3 |   1.8 |  11.9 |

* Data is for the month of October 2024 from Poshan Tracker

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