Critical Analysis of Child Malnutrition in India

Risa Katz

Nursing in the Global Community

Thomas Edison State College

February 16, 2012

Abstract Despite a rapid phase of economic globalization, India is still struggling with the global health issues that are compounded by the health care inequalities that exist due to socioeconomic status, geography, and gender. In the face of growing economic power, India’s global health issue is child malnutrition. Child malnutrition in India is at unduly high rates and the leading cause of child mortality. Developing and implementing strategies to ensure food sufficiency, and reduce child mortality is imperative to eliminate this health disparity in India. India faces major challenges in sustaining the health gains achieved in the better-performing states and ensuring that the lagging states catch up with the rest of the country. In order for country to succeed they must monitor and analyze new and current initiatives for effectives and adequacy.

Introduction The history of India is a story of incredible drama, great interventions, enormous diversity, phenomenal creativity and the biggest ideas. Today the population of the subcontinent as a whole, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh is currently 1.5 billion (Wood, 2007). India has become one of the fastest growing major economies; it is considered a newly industrialized county. Nevertheless, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, illiteracy, corruption, and inadequate public healthcare. Thus, achieving good health for the people of India is a challenge given the population, its multiplicity, and the burden of disease that affects this region of the world (Carr, 2004). According to 2008 Global Hunger Index or GHI (India’s Health Report, 2010), India ranks 66 out 88 countries. The calculation is determined by weighted indicators, such as, the proportion of the population that is calorie deficient, prevalence of underweight children under the age of five and mortality rate of children under 5. According to the latest UNICEF report (2010), 5,000 children under the age of five die in India everyday due to preventable causes. Within the under-five mortality rate, the maximum 96 per cent of children who die belong to the Scheduled Tribes, 88 per cent to Scheduled Castes and 59 to general population. Child malnutrition in India is a directly linked to inability to access health care, food, safe water poor sanitation services, and inappropriate child caring and feeding practices. These interrelated factors are in turn exacerbated by poor households’ and communities’ lack of access to human, financial, social, natural, and physical capital, combined with social discrimination,

lack of education and gender inequality (Von Braun, Ruel & Gulati, 2008). The statistical data also included the wealthiest children of India suffer from malnutrition due to poor feeding practices. .Due to low social status of women impairs their ability to make decisions about investments in their children’s health, nutrition, and education and prevents them gaining access to the services they need to protect their own health, nutrition and survival (Von Braun, Ruel & Gulati, 2008). Sadly, little emphasis has addresses the other determinants of malnutrition.
India has the highest number of malnourished children in the world with Madhya Pradesh being the worst effected state. There is correlation between the high rate of malnutrition in India and the inability to access health care, poor living conditions and lack of income in rural areas. Those living in urban areas are more inclined to have access to food resources because of globalization. Each year, malnutrition costs the Indian economy approximately $10 billion with total direct and indirect costs at 2-3% of the gross daily product (Deogankar, 2004). Population based studies have shown that the greatest risk of nutritional deficiency and growth retardation occurs in