India has the most malnourished children in the world. The fifth and the latest round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) India has the most malnourished children in the world. The fifth and the latest round of the has highlighted that India isn’t making as much progress as it should have towards SDG 2.2 (ending all forms of malnutrition by 2030 for children under 5) – since the percentage of stunted, wasted, underweight and anaemic children in India is 36%, 19%, 32% and 67%, respectively.

Nutritional status of the country and associated public threat:

• As per NFHS-5 data, the percentage of stunted, wasted and underweight children has gone down. However, India could not sustain the decrease in the rate of stunting and severe wasting.
  • It has led to cognitive deficits and compromised learning abilities as undernourished children were found to be enrolled in school late; they had higher chances of repeating a grade or dropped out of school altogether.
• About 60% of women and teenage girls are anaemic.
  • It has lowered the ability to survive childbirth which is reflected in higher IMR and MMR.
  • Other than iron deficiency, the iodine and vitamin A deficiency remains a significant public health issue that leads to mental and physical growth retardation, night blindness and preventable child morbidity.
• India houses the world’s largest number of underweight people.
  • Micro-nutrient deficiencies or ‘Hidden Hunger’ contributes to the vicious cycle of malnutrition, underdevelopment and poverty.
  • It has led to an increase in infectious diseases like Tuberculosis and Pneumonia in India.
• India houses world’s third largest population of overweight and obese people. About 3.4% children, 24% women and 23% men in India are overweight.
  • It is leading to an increase in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases like prediabetes in children, and high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type-2 diabetes, osteoporosis, depression, etc. in adults.

To address the nutrition challenges, the government has launched various schemes including POSHAN Abhiyan, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Mid-day meal scheme, National Health Mission etc. To make these initiatives more effective, following steps can also be taken:

• Identify districts that require urgent intervention. Districts can be classified into three groups based on priority into green, yellow and red, and red being the topmost priority districts. This would ensure special focus on the poor districts especially the tribal regions.
• The government should also consider linking village, district, state and national level metrics to track improvements in children’s health.
• An outcome-oriented focus on agriculture, sanitation and women’s education is required, which includes special focus on awareness about nutrition and related program in India.
• Subsidy should be provided to crops other than cereals such as pulses, fruits and vegetables. These crops can be made available through the PDS along with rice and wheat. Further, food fortification can go a long way is tackling the challenge of nutrition.
• Fat tax as introduced by Kerala over fast foods can be implemented all over India.

In order to achieve the SDG of ‘Zero hunger’, India needs a Nutrition Revolution with more strategized outcome-based action plans and women leading at the front.