The National elections in India may well be over, but the persistent issue of malnutrition still holds the nation in its tight grip. And yet, of the myriads of topical issues that comprised political propaganda, including caste, religion, employment, farmer upliftment, and even social transfers, none of the political parties raised this critical issue. The twin problems of malnutrition and nutritional insecurity are particularly severe in rural India. Source: IFPRI South Asia Office
Stopping Muzaffarpur Child Deaths Will Require a Gender-Sensitive Social Analysis
Muzaffarpur is emblematic of a hot spot for undernutrition in India. With one in two children stunted, Muzaffarpur lags India’s average by ten percentage points. One in two women is anaemic and one in three is underweight. Although most infants are breastfed and exclusive breastfeeding is high, other aspects of infant diets are abysmal and childhood illness is high. Other social determinants of malnutrition – early marriage, poverty, open defecation and more – offer a case study in what one could call a “perfect storm” of risk factors. Source: IFPRI South Asia Office
