Lok Sabha Question No. 2731 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-04
Subject: Stunted Children
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Aparupa  Poddar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2731

TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.08.2023

## STUNTED CHILDREN

## 2731.   SHRIMATI APARUPA PODDAR:

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

- (a) whether about 8 per cent of children in the country are reported malnourished which nearly amounts to 47 lakh and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the proposal strategy and target to combat malnourishment in children and for their better growth in future in the country; and
- (c) the action taken so far to overcome the situation where half of young children under the age of four are reported underweight and stunted?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

- (a)        The data on nutritional indicators is captured under the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS) conducted periodically by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The  last  round,  NFHS-5,  was  conducted  during  2019-21.  As  per  NFHS-5,  the prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight among children under 5 years of age is 35.5%, 19.3% and 32.1%. However, as per data recorded in Poshan Tracker, ICT application  for  Mission  Poshan  2.0,  close  to  7  crore  children  were  measured  in  the country in the June 2023 as per which, 7% were wasted and 19% underweight, which is significantly lower than NFHS indicators.

(b) & (c) The Government has accorded high priority to the issue of malnutrition and is implementing several schemes as direct targeted interventions to address the problem  of  malnutrition  in  the  country.   POSHAN  Abhiyaan  launched  on  8th  March 2018, aims to achieve improvement in nutritional status of Adolescent Girls, Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers in a time bound manner by adopting a synergised and result oriented approach. The Abhiyaan has been rolled out across 36 States/UTs.

Further,  the  efforts  under  the  Supplementary  Nutrition  Programme  under Anganwadi Services and POSHAN Abhiyaan have been rejuvenated and converged as 'Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0' (Mission Poshan 2.0). It seeks to address the challenges of malnutrition in children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers through a strategic shift in nutrition content and delivery and by creation of a convergent eco-system to develop and promote practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity.

Poshan  2.0  focuses  on  Maternal  Nutrition,  Infant  and  Young  Child  Feeding Norms, Treatment of MAM/SAM and Wellness through AYUSH. It rests on the pillars of Convergence, Governance, and Capacity-building. POSHAN Abhiyaan is the key pillar for Outreach and will cover innovations related to nutritional support, ICT interventions, Media Advocacy and Research, Community Outreach and Jan Andolan. Steps have been  taken  to  improve  nutritional  quality  and  testing  in  accredited  labs,  strengthen delivery  and  leverage  technology  under the 'Poshan Tracker', a robust ICT enabled platform to improve governance with regard to monitoring of provisioning of supplementary nutrition for prompt supervision and management of services.

Under  Poshan  2.0,  focus  is  on  diet  diversity,  food  fortification,  leveraging traditional systems of knowledge and popularizing use of millets. Nutrition awareness strategies under Poshan 2.0 aim to develop sustainable health and well-being through regional meal plans to bridge dietary gaps. Further, greater emphasis is being given on the use of millets (coarse grains) for preparation of Hot Cooked Meal and Take Home rations (not raw ration) at Anganwadi centres for Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers and Children below 6 years of age, as millets have high nutrient content which includes protein, essential fatty acid, dietary fibre, B-Vitamins, minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, folic acid and other micro-nutrients thus helping to tackle anemia and other micronutrient deficiencies in women and children. Under Supplementary Nutrition Programme of Mission Poshan 2.0, only fortified rice is being allocated to States/UTs.

*******