Child Malnourishment in India and its Scientific Solutions

Malnutrition in children is responsible for more than 3.5 million deaths every year and is thus a serious threat globally 1 . Despite the rapid economic growth and development of India, it remains burdened with an unfinished agenda of undernutrition. Estimates by the National Family Health Survey NFHS show that 48 , or 61 million, under five age group children in the country are stunted they have low height for their age 43 , or 53 million, are underweight and nearly 20 , or 25 million, are wasted low weight for height 2 . Its imperative to focus on production diversity as well as food fortification at a macro level e.g. millets are 4 5 times more nutritious than rice and wheat in terms of proteins minerals and vitamins 3 . The ready to use food supplement RUTF is equivalent to F 100 formula milk based used at hospitals across India but is instead made in a paste that can be safely given to a child at home. Besides, the initiatives taken by the Government of India some innovative ideas proposed can also be practiced. More than half of the malnourishment is due to poor sanitation than lack of nutrition so awareness and cleanliness measures on a large scale play an important role as well. Misbah Khan "Child Malnourishment in India & its Scientific Solutions" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-3 | Issue-4 , June 2019, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd23836.pdf