Lok Sabha Question No. 1106 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-07-22
Subject: Malnutrition Among Women and Children
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: R. PARTHIPAN, RODMAL NAGAR, ABHISHEK SINGH, RITI PATHAK, LALLU SINGH, JITENDRA CHAUDHURY, RANGASWAMY DHRUVANARAYANA, MD. BADARIDDOZA KHAN, JAGDAMBIKA PAL, MAULANA BADRUDDIN AJMAL, ANURAG SINGH THAKUR, PARBHUBHAI NAGARBHAI VASAVA, PRITAM GOPINATH MUNDE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1106

TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.07.2016

## MALNUTRITION AMONG WOMEN AND CHILDREN

1106:  SHRI R.PARTHIPAN:

SHRI NAGAR RODMAL:

SHRI ABHISHEK SINGH:

SHRIMATI RITI PATHAK:

SHRI LALLU SINGH:

SHRI JITENDRA CHAUDHURY:

SHRI R. DHRUVA NARAYANA:

SHRI MD.: BADARUDOZUA KHAN

SHRIJAGDAMBIKA PAL:

SHRI BADRUDDIN AJMAL:

SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR:

SHRI PARBHUBHAI NAGARBHAI VASAVA:

DR. PRITAM GOPINATH MUNDE :

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

- a) whether  malnutrition  among women  and  children  is  still  prevalent  in  the  country,  particularly  in  tribal areas and is continuous to be highest in the world and if so, the facts thereof indicating the country's position in Human Index report of United Nations Organisation;
- b) the number of malnourished (Severe Acute Malnutrition and Moderate Acute Malnutrition), underweight and stunted women and children in the country and the reasons therefore along with deaths reported therefrom, State/UT-wise;
- c) the details/objectives of the schemes including National Nutrition Mission (NAM) being implemented for eradication  of  malnutrition  and  the  funds  allocated/  released,  utilized  and  achievements  made thereunder during each of the last three years and the current year, scheme and State/UT-wise;
- d) whether the funds crunch under the NAM has adversely affected malnutrition eradication programmes and if so, the reaction of the Government thereto; and
- e) the further measures taken by the Government to make available benefits of schemes to the targeted beneficiaries and eradicate malnutrition from the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI MANEKA SANJAY GANDHI)

- (a)     As per Rapid Survey on Children (RSoC), 2013-14, there is a reduction in level of underweight among children under 5 years of age from 42.5% in NFHS-3 (2005-06) to 29.4%, stunting from 48% in NFHS-3 to 38.7% and wasting from 19.8% in NFHS-3 to 15.1% in RSoC. Among the ST population, there is a reduction in level of underweight  among children under  5  years  of  age  from  54.5%  in  NFHS-3  (2005-06)  to  36.7%,  stunting  from 53.9% in NFHS-3 to 42.3% and wasting from 27.6% in NFHS-3 to 18.7% in RSoC. Further, as per NFHS-3, 29.4 % women of reproductive age are undernourished while 46.6 % of women belonging to Schedule Tribes (ST) are undernourished.

As  per  Human  Development  Report  2015  released  by  the  United  Nations  Development  Programme (UNDP),  India  has  been  placed  at  130 th   position  in  the  Human  Development  Index  (HDI)  among  the  188 countries.

(b)   Malnutrition is a multi- faceted problem. The important determinants are inadequate food, level of poverty leading to low purchasing power, poor socio-economic status of women, female illiteracy, high rate of population growth and low access of population to health education, safe drinking water, environmental, sanitation, hygiene and other social services. Malnutrition is not a direct cause of death but contributes to increased morbidity and mortality  by  reducing  resistance  to  infections.  The  State-wise  prevalence  of  malnutrition  among  women  and children in the country is at Annexure-I & II .

(c  to  e)  The  Government  has  accorded  high  priority  to  the  issue  of  malnutrition  and  is  implementing  several schemes/programmes  of  different  Ministries/Departments  through  State  Governments/UT  Administrations  to address  one or  other  aspect  related  to  Nutrition.  This  Ministry  is  implementing  Integrated  Child  Development Services (ICDS) Scheme, 'Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG)-'Sabla', and Indira  Gandhi  Matritva  Sahyog  Yojana  (IGMSY)  as  direct  targeted  interventions  to  address  the  problem  of malnutrition among women and children. The details of these schemes is available in the Annual Report (201415)  of  the  Ministry,  which  is  available  in  the  Library  of  Lok  Sabha  Secretariat  and  is  also  available  on  the Ministry's website, www.wcd.nic.in

Additionally, the Food and Nutrition Board of the Ministry, through its 43 regional field units, is engaged in  conducting training programmes in nutrition, in addition to advocacy towards generating awareness through nutrition education programmes on the importance of healthy balanced diets especially through the use of locally available foods, mass awareness campaigns and use of electronic and print media.

Further, under the National Nutrition Mission, there are two components, namely

-  Information,  Education  and  Communication  (IEC)  campaign  against  malnutrition:  In  order  to  create awareness  about  nutrition  challenges  and  promote  home  level  feeding  practices,  a  nationwide Information,  Education and Communication (IEC) campaign was launched during the years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15.
-  Multi-sectoral Nutrition programme to address Maternal and Child Under-Nutrition in 200 high-burden districts,  which  aims  at  prevention  and  reduction  in  child  under-nutrition  (underweight  prevalence  in children under 3 years of age) and reduction in levels of anaemia among young children, adolescent girls and women.

The budgetary allocation made and funds utilized under the National Nutrition Mission (NNM) during last three years and the current year is as below:

| Financial Year   |   Budget Estimates (Rs in Crore) |   Revised Estimates (Rs in Crore) | Expenditure (Rs in Crore)   |
|------------------|----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------|
| 2013-14          |                           300    |                               200 | 123.00                      |
| 2014-15          |                           300    |                                20 | 20.00                       |
| 2015-16          |                           205.79 |                                65 | --                          |

The objective of the new NNM is to ensure that every child, adolescent girl and woman attains optimal nutritional status.    The  focus  is  on  preventing  and  reducing  under  nutrition  among  the  mothers  and  under-six  years' children.

*******

## Annexure-I

| Nutritional Status of Children under 5 years of age   | Nutritional Status of Children under 5 years of age   | Nutritional Status of Children under 5 years of age   | Nutritional Status of Children under 5 years of age   | Nutritional Status of Children under 5 years of age   | Nutritional Status of Children under 5 years of age   | Nutritional Status of Children under 5 years of age   |
|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                       | Underweight                                           | Underweight                                           | Stunting                                              | Stunting                                              | Wasting                                               | Wasting                                               |
| State                                                 | NFHS-3 (2005-06) (below 5 yrs)                        | RSoC (2013-14) (below 5 yrs)                          | NFHS-3 (2005-06) (below 5 yrs)                        | RSoC (2013-14) (below 5 yrs)                          | NFHS-3 (2005-06) (below 5 yrs)                        | RSoC (2013-14) (below 5 yrs)                          |
| Andhra Pradesh                                        | 32.5                                                  | 22.3                                                  | 42.7                                                  | 35.4                                                  | 12.2                                                  | 19                                                    |
| Arunachal Pradesh                                     | 32.5                                                  | 24.6                                                  | 43.3                                                  | 28.4                                                  | 15.3                                                  | 17                                                    |
| Assam                                                 | 36.4                                                  | 22.2                                                  | 46.5                                                  | 40.6                                                  | 13.7                                                  | 9.7                                                   |
| Bihar                                                 | 55.9                                                  | 37.1                                                  | 55.6                                                  | 49.4                                                  | 27.1                                                  | 13.1                                                  |
| Chhattisgarh                                          | 47.1                                                  | 33.9                                                  | 52.9                                                  | 43                                                    | 19.5                                                  | 12.9                                                  |
| Delhi                                                 | 26.1                                                  | 19.4                                                  | 42.2                                                  | 29.1                                                  | 15.4                                                  | 14.3                                                  |
| Goa                                                   | 25                                                    | 16.2                                                  | 25.6                                                  | 21.3                                                  | 14.1                                                  | 15.4                                                  |
| Gujarat                                               | 44.6                                                  | 33.6                                                  | 51.7                                                  | 41.6                                                  | 18.7                                                  | 18.7                                                  |
| Haryana                                               | 39.6                                                  | 22.7                                                  | 45.7                                                  | 36.5                                                  | 19.1                                                  | 8.8                                                   |
| Himachal Pradesh                                      | 36.5                                                  | 19.5                                                  | 38.6                                                  | 34.2                                                  | 19.3                                                  | 10.1                                                  |
| J&K                                                   | 25.6                                                  | 15.4                                                  | 35                                                    | 31.7                                                  | 14.8                                                  | 7.1                                                   |
| Jharkhand                                             | 56.5                                                  | 42.1                                                  | 49.8                                                  | 47.4                                                  | 32.3                                                  | 15.6                                                  |
| Karnataka                                             | 37.6                                                  | 28.9                                                  | 43.7                                                  | 34.2                                                  | 12.6                                                  | 17                                                    |
| Kerala                                                | 22.9                                                  | 18.5                                                  | 24.5                                                  | 19.4                                                  | 15.9                                                  | 15.5                                                  |
| Madhya Pradesh                                        | 60                                                    | 36.1                                                  | 50                                                    | 41.5                                                  | 35                                                    | 17.5                                                  |
| Maharashtra                                           | 37                                                    | 25.2                                                  | 46.3                                                  | 35.4                                                  | 16.5                                                  | 18.6                                                  |
| Manipur                                               | 22.1                                                  | 14.1                                                  | 35.6                                                  | 33.2                                                  | 9                                                     | 7.1                                                   |
| Meghalaya                                             | 48.8                                                  | 30.9                                                  | 55.1                                                  | 42.9                                                  | 30.7                                                  | 13.1                                                  |
| Mizoram                                               | 19.9                                                  | 14.8                                                  | 39.8                                                  | 26.9                                                  | 9                                                     | 14.3                                                  |
| Nagaland                                              | 25.2                                                  | 19.5                                                  | 38.8                                                  | 29.1                                                  | 13.3                                                  | 11.8                                                  |
| Orissa                                                | 40.7                                                  | 34.4                                                  | 45                                                    | 38.2                                                  | 19.5                                                  | 18.3                                                  |
| Punjab                                                | 24.9                                                  | 16                                                    | 36.7                                                  | 30.5                                                  | 9.2                                                   | 8.7                                                   |
| Rajasthan                                             | 39.9                                                  | 31.5                                                  | 43.7                                                  | 36.4                                                  | 20.4                                                  | 14.1                                                  |
| Sikkim                                                | 19.7                                                  | 15.8                                                  | 38.3                                                  | 28                                                    | 9.7                                                   | 5.1                                                   |
| Tamil Nadu                                            | 29.8                                                  | 23.3                                                  | 30.9                                                  | 23.3                                                  | 22.2                                                  | 19                                                    |
| Tripura                                               | 39.6                                                  | 30.5                                                  | 35.7                                                  | 31                                                    | 24.6                                                  | 17.1                                                  |
| Uttar Pradesh                                         | 42.4                                                  | 34.3                                                  | 56.8                                                  | 50.4                                                  | 14.8                                                  | 10                                                    |
| Uttrakhand                                            | 38                                                    | 20.6                                                  | 44.4                                                  | 34                                                    | 18.8                                                  | 9.3                                                   |
| West Bengal                                           | 38.7                                                  | 30                                                    | 44.6                                                  | 34.7                                                  | 16.9                                                  | 15.3 15.1                                             |
| INDIA                                                 | 42.5                                                  | 29.4                                                  | 48.0                                                  | 38.7                                                  | 19.8                                                  |                                                       |

## Prevalence of under nourished women (BMI <18.5) in 15-49 years NFHS 3 (2005-06)

| Sl. No.   | State/UTs         |   % Underweight Women (age 15 - 49 yrs) (BMI below normal) |
|-----------|-------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh    |                                                       33.5 |
| 2         | Assam             |                                                       36.5 |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh |                                                       16.4 |
| 4         | Bihar             |                                                       45.1 |
| 5         | Chhattisgarh      |                                                       43.4 |
| 6         | Delhi             |                                                       14.8 |
| 7         | Goa               |                                                       27.9 |
| 8         | Gujarat           |                                                       36.3 |
| 9         | Haryana           |                                                       31.3 |
| 10        | Himachal Pradesh  |                                                       29.9 |
| 11        | J&K               |                                                       24.6 |
| 12        | Jharkhand         |                                                       43   |
| 13        | Karnataka         |                                                       35.5 |
| 14        | Kerala            |                                                       18   |
| 15        | Madhya Pradesh    |                                                       41.7 |
| 16        | Maharashtra       |                                                       36.2 |
| 17        | Manipur           |                                                       14.8 |
| 18        | Meghalaya         |                                                       14.6 |
| 19        | Mizoram           |                                                       14.4 |
| 20        | Nagaland          |                                                       17.4 |
| 21        | Orissa            |                                                       41.4 |
| 22        | Punjab            |                                                       18.9 |
| 23        | Rajasthan         |                                                       36.7 |
| 24        | Sikkim            |                                                       11.2 |
| 25        | Tamil Nadu        |                                                       28.4 |
| 26        | Tripura           |                                                       36.9 |
| 27        | Uttar Pradesh     |                                                       36   |
| 28        | Uttrakhand        |                                                       30   |
| 29        | West Bengal       |                                                       39.1 |
|           | India             |                                                       35.6 |