The food surplus status of Haryana conjures up the image of green fields and formidable young men and women, many of whom have made the country proud by winning medals in various sports fields. Ironically, the food surplus state has been found lacking in nutrition of its children.
According to a recent National Family Health Survey III (NFHS III), 46 per cent of children suffer from stunting (height according to age), 43 per cent suffer from underweight (weight according to age) and 19 per cent suffer from wasting (weight according to height) in Haryana.
The anomaly has come to light when it was found that the situation in Haryana on child nutrition front is even worse then 100 backward districts of six states — Bihar, Jharkhand, MP, Orissa, Rajasthan and UP. This was in sharp contrast to Kerela, where only 24 per cent children suffer from stunting, 22 per cent from underweight and 15 per cent from wasting.
The fact has been corroborated by another independent study by the Kuruksherta University. Associate professor Dr Rajeswari, in his study “spatial pattern of child nutrition in rural Haryana: A socio-economic analysis,” says that it was surprising to find a shocking proportion of child malnutrition.
The study is based on the primary data collected from 1,440 households spread over 16 villages in eight districts of the state. “Child malnutrition was measured in terms of long-term nutritional intake i.e. height for age and a comprehensive indicator of long and short-term dietary and illness episodes i.e. weight for age,” she said.
The analysis revealed that child malnutrition was pervasive, irrespective of spatial and social status. The study also pointed towards some serious and urgent need to take short and long-term measures to achieve nutritional security in the state.
Among short-term measures, it suggested the need for an awareness campaign for healthy dietary practices as well as special attention towards maternal health as more than 60 per cent of expectant mothers were found anaemic, who gave birth to low-weight babies.