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Undernutrition in India – The Matter of Worry in Modern Scenario

Undernutrition in India is another name for hidden hunger. Undernutrition in India is the most emerging issue in the current scenario. The biggest hit of the Covid-19 Pandemic and already prevailing poverty in India has further contributed to the growing rates of Undernutrition in India. Undernutrition is not a recent issue but is taking a toll amidst the chaos. Modern India represents a paradoxical situation where a large section of society (the poorest two-fifths of the country’s population) is still mostly untouched by the current economy, which the rest of the country inhabits. Despite rapid economic growth, declining levels of poverty, enough food to export, and multiple government programs, the problem of Undernutrition in India remains high.

India ranked 94 out of 107 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2020 and continues to be in the “severe” hunger category. However, it has made some progress, particularly since the enactment of the National Food Security Act. According to the recent report authored by the Government of India and the United Nations World Food Programme, malnutrition amongst India’s children is projected to rise, despite all the progress made in food security and its channels.

According to the World Health Organisation’s recent release, malnutrition includes under-nutrition (wasting, stunting, being underweight), inadequate vitamins/minerals, overweight, obesity issues, and diet-related health issues. In other words, malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses, or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and nutrients.

The burden of Undernutrition in India is high, resulting in deaths of children under five years linked to low nutrition intake. Simultaneously, the Indian Government is continuously aiming at a $5 trillion economy by 2024. UNICEF’s State report has shown that malnutrition has caused 69% of child deaths below five in India. Every moment a child in that age group is affected by malnutrition, most children and other individuals suffer from the undernutrition problem.

Introduction: Undernutrition in India

Undernutrition in India needs a severe concern to mitigate the same from its roots. Before that, we shall understand what Undernutrition in is? Undernutrition is a disease in a body where it lacks the required nutritions due to insufficient food intake or improper food intake that lacks the required nutrients. Undernutrition occurs when they lack nutrients because they eat too little food, less than the body’s proper functioning requirement. Undernutrition lacks vitamins, minerals, calcium, and other essential substances that their body needs to function. Undernutrition is insufficient energy and nutrients to meet an individual’s needs to maintain good health. In most literature, undernutrition is used synonymously with the term malnutrition. In the strictest sense, malnutrition denotes both undernutrition and overnutrition. But Undernutrition in India is mainly the deficiency. The term ‘undernutrition’ includes stunting, i.e., low height for age, wasting, i.e., low weight for height, underweight, i.e., low weight for age, and micronutrient deficiencies and insufficiencies, i.e., a lack of essential vitamins and minerals from the body. The problem of Undernutrition is mostly suffered by children significantly below five years of age.

Undernutrition is understood through the following definitions: Stunting refers to any child who is too short for his/her age. These children can suffer severe physical & cognitive damage that accompanies stunted growth. The devastating consequences of stunting can last for a lifetime and can even affect the next generation. Wasting is referred to as a child who is too thin or lean for his/her height. Wasting is the consequence of recent rapid weight loss or failure to gain ideal weight. A moderately and severely wasted child has an increased risk of death, but treatment is possible.

Undernutrition in India is a severe problem that has many forms. No country is untouched. It affects all geographies, all age groups, rich people & poor people. All forms of undernutrition are associated with various forms of ill health and higher levels of mortality. Undernutrition in India explains around 45% of deaths among children under five years of age, mainly in low and middle-income countries. Child undernutrition in India is a global issue as they are tender enough to be targeted by this disease. 

Effects of Undernutrition

As far as adverse effects of undernutrition are concerned, growth failure and infections are quite highlighting. Child undernutrition does not let them attain their optimum potential in terms of growth and development, physical capacity to work & economic productivity in their later phases of life. It is observed that work or school absenteeism is much higher due to child undernutrition, leading to poor performance in their work field or class. Cognitive impairment resulting from Undernutrition in India may result in diminished productivity. Apart from these, Undernutrition in India increases the risk of multiple infectious diseases like diarrhea, anemia, malaria, and pneumonia, and chronic malnutrition can impair physical and mental development.

 As per the World Bank estimates, childhood stunting may result in a loss of height among adults by 1%, leading to a reduction in individuals’ economic productivity by 1.4%. Micronutrient deficiencies can further lead to poor health and development, particularly in children. Undernutrition can lead to diet-related non-communicable diseases, which is harmful to children, adults, etc.

The reason behind the Menace of Undernutrition in India

There have been multiple cases of the emerging issue of Undernutrition in India. With the already existing problem of Undernutrition, covid-19 worked as a catalytic factor in contributing to the menace. Malnutrition or Undernutrition in India is an ecological problem that does not appear alone. It accompanies various issues of poverty, disturbed family structure, ignorance, and depression. Throwing light on some of the factors behind Undernutrition in India, which are:

  • Poverty in India– Poverty is the leading cause of Undernutrition in India. Because of their low purchasing power, poor and underprivileged people cannot afford to buy the desired food & desired quality of food for their family. The issue of poverty adversely affects their capacity for physical work, and ultimately they earn less. The case further leads to a vicious cycle of poverty, undernutrition, diminished work capacity, low achieving, and poverty.
  • Food-related habits– The majority of people in India are reluctant to choose proper diet habits for themselves. Lack of awareness of nutritional food, irrational beliefs about fooding habits, inappropriate child-rearing & feeding habits all leads to undernutrition in the family. The inadequacy of any particular segment in the body can often contribute to the issue of Undernutrition in India.
  • Infections & diseases- Infections or diseases like malaria, dengue, typhoid, measles, or recurrent attacks of diarrhea may precipitate acute Undernutrition in India, aggravate the existing nutritional deficit in the body. Metabolic demands for protein are slightly higher during infections. Any individual suffering from the same may consume insufficient food either due to reduced appetite or due to food restrictions as per the medical guidance. They are thus leading to Undernutrition in India.
  • Lack of access to the right food– The majority of problem-related to Undernutrition in India isn’t because of a lack of food but the modes of obtaining them. Non-availability of nutritional food in markets, difficult access to markets due to lack of proper transportation, and insufficient penny in the packet contribute to the Undernutrition in India of the most vulnerable populations. 
  • Lack of proper drinking water– Water is synonymous with life. Lack of potable water, poor sanitation, and dangerous hygienic practices increase vulnerability to infectious and water-borne diseases, direct causes of acute malnutrition, resulting in escalating issues of Undernutrition in India.
  • Rising conflicts-Conflicts have a direct impact on food-related habits, drastically compromising on access to food. Often forced to leave their farms as violence escalates, people uprooted by these conflicts lose access to their workplace or other means of food production. Abandoned fields and farms no longer deliver food to broader distribution channels. As a result, food supplies to distributors are cut short, and many people dependent on them may not consume sufficient food.
  • Unforeseen events– Epidemics/Pandemics are few such factors that lead to an instant rise in India’s number of Undernutrition cases. Since time immemorial, problems like epidemics have been severely affecting millions of people’s eating habits and financial status. Currently, Covid-19 Pandemic has triggered the growth rate of Undernutrition in India due to loss of jobs, no means of livelihood, no money resulting in no food. We can see millions of people starving and going back to sleep on an empty stomach. Undernutrition has become a global issue with this pandemic.
  • Unstable climatic conditions– The number of natural disasters like droughts, cyclones, floods, etc. linked to climate change has increased subs. The effects of climate change are often overdramatic, devastating areas that are already vulnerable. Infrastructure is badly damaged or destroyed; diseases spread quickly; people can no longer grow crops or raise livestock. The unpredictable climatic conditions lead to scarcity of food and loss of crops, severely affecting the rural areas and leading to Undernutrition in India.
  • Other socio–cultural issues –
    • Inequitable food distribution in the family results in the primary cause of Undernutrition in India. 
    • A large family’s rapid succession of pregnancies majorly affects the nutritional status of the mother. 
    • Low quality of housing, sanitation, and water supply. 
    • Inadequate maternal and child care

The effects of undernutrition in early childhood can be devastating & long-lasting. Whether children are well-nourished during the prenatal period or not, their first years of life can have profound repercussions on their health, as well as their ability to learn, communicate, socialize, reasoning, and adapt to their environment.

Measures to combat Undernutrition in India

  • Adequate nutrition is essential for the overall development of human beings, both physically and mentally.
  • The importance of nutrition is realized from the fact that Undernutrition in India is a grieving concern throughout the nation.
  • The fear of Undernutrition in India requires a detailed and comprehensive approach.  The importance of nutrition is a roaring topic for one and all to protect themselves from the garb of undernutrition or malnutrition.
  • To make people realize the importance of nutritious food, various government initiatives have been launched over the years seeking to improve our country’s nutritional status.
  • Some of the initiatives include the Integrated Child Development Services, the National Health Mission, the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan, and the National Food Security Mission, Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, etc.
  • However, concerns regarding malnutrition have existed despite improvements over the past years.
  • To assist the Government in its noble cause and being an NGO for hunger-related issues in India, Hindrise Foundation is eradicating hunger to mitigate Undernutrition in India. We extend full support to weaker communities of different parts of India by serving essential nutrients and conducting activities to fulfill the basic requirement.
  • As an NGO for hunger, we strive to protect underprivileged ones’ dignity and uproot hunger and malnutrition from India.

Additional Measures to Combat Undernutrition  

  • We are highly competent to improve our country’s nutrition level and ensure food security across India’s geographical boundary.
  • Being an NGO, Hindrise Foundation, continuously searching for practical solutions to increase the accessibility of high-quality food with better nutritional value.
  • We are serving wholesome food to maximum children living under the roof of sorrow and scarcities through our programs.
  • In the covid-19 period, we have recently served ration kits and food in the remote areas to help the underprivileged in emerging victorious against the pandemic.
  • Hindrise Foundation, an NGO for hunger in India, has successfully circulated 4 lakh food packets in various parts of Delhi NCR amid the outbreak.
  • We have distributed approximately 2 lakh ration kits to assist the migrant workers and make them fight hard against the pandemic’s negative consequences.
  • We have also created a strategy to ensure the essential needs of low-income families of migrant workers and other individuals living under reduced circumstances; we have issued more than 2 lakh face masks for making them sustain the trouble of COVID-19.
  • We are still adamant about maximizing our efforts to contribute daily meals to every impoverished family to eradicate Undernutrition in India.

Conclusion

As said, hunger issues are caused not by food shortages but by inadequate access to nutritional food. For the poor and suppressed, access to food is taken away by social, administrative, and economic hindrances. India wants to be malnutrition free; with no blot of undernutrition, government intervention and NGOs’ joint efforts can achieve the ideal state.