Four-fold increase in two years; activists call for better implementation of ICDS, mid-day meal schemes

Mumbai: Nearly 34% of the children studying in Mumbai’s municipal schools are malnourished, a report by non-governmental organisation Praja Foundation has found. This figure for 2015-16 is more than four times the 2013-14 figure of 8%.

“A huge crisis is unfolding in Mumbai’s municipal schools. All levels of government linked to child nutrition must tackle this problem urgently,” Nitai Mehta, founder and managing trustee of Praja, said during a discussion of the report’s findings on Tuesday.

While the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) budget allocations for mid-day meals for Class I-V and Class VI-VII both went up from 2013-14 to 2015-16, there was a parallel drop in budget utilisation.

Also Read HSC results: Mumbai at bottom of the table

In total, 1,30,680 of the 3,83,485 children were found to be malnourished. The M/E ward, comprising areas of Govandi and Mankhurd, had the highest number of malnourished children at 15,038, followed by H/E ward (Santacruz) with 9,100 and L ward (Kurla) with 6,586.

Govandi and Mankhurd have extremely low socio-economic and human development indices according to the BMC’s Human Development Report, 2009, said Milind Mhaske, project director at Praja. “The BMC should pay special attention to the more deprived wards to speed up their development,” Mr. Mhaske said.

Resolving the worsening problem requires the civic body to admit that something is wrong in the first place, the activists said. Public spending on the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme, a national welfare programme aimed especially at tackling malnutrition in younger classes, as well as on the mid-day meal scheme for higher classes, have been priority for the State and municipal governments. But something is lacking in their implementation, Praja members said.

While Maharashtra has been battling malnutrition for the past year, the figures in Mumbai, a city generally deemed to have better resources that can serve this issue, point to a deeper problem that needs attention.

“We will do a yearly follow-up through research of government figures,” said Mr. Mehta. “What we recommend as a solution is a detailed impact assessment of health programmes as well as an in-depth third-party evaluation of the money being spent on children in schools.”

He said the health check-up has many parameters, including ailments such as diarrhoea and anaemia, vitamin checks and physical measurements. As many as 13,684 students were found to be suffering from anaemia, and diarrhoea was also a common problem. Praja members said while school health cards are six pages long, and the system is in place, the focus needs to be on implementation.