More than 58 per cent of children below the age of five years are anaemic, reveals the recently released family health survey (NFHS 4). It means, these kids suffer from lacking haemoglobin in the blood, leaving them vulnerable to infections, and might affect their brain development.
Carried out in 2015-16, the survey covered six lakh families. It also presented that around 38 per cent of children in the similar age group were underdeveloped, 21 per cent were wasted and 36 per cent underweight.
While all the globally accepted signs of children’s health have enhanced since the last such survey in 2005-06, the levels of malnutrition, triggered largely by poverty, are still tall and the progress is excessively sluggish.
The entire number of children under five in India in 2015 was estimated at 12.4 crore, based on the 2011 Census data. Thus, about 7.2 crore children are anaemic, approximately 5 crore are stunted, around 2.6 crore are wasted and 4.4 crore are underweight. These numbers are quite similar to those in 2005-06. As population has augmented, their share is down.
High levels of these indicators are strong indications of “poor socio-economic conditions” and “suboptimal health and/or nutritional conditions”, said WHO.
There is extensive difference among states. The data of UP has not been out considering the continuing polls. But poorer states such as Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have greater than national average rates on all markers.
More progressive states such as those in the south, Haryana and Gujarat have marginally better numbers but are still at unacceptable levels. While 51 per cent children are anaemic on Tamil Nadu, in Kerala it is over one-third.
