Over 41.6% children in Gujarat are stunted and 18.3% are categorized as ‘severely stunted’. Nationally, 38.80%... Read More

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat is battling malnutrition, with around 10.1% children in the state being grossly underweight and 41.6% of children showing stunted growth.

These are the findings of the Rapid Survey on Children, a nationwide sample survey of over one lakh households, conducted by Unicef, the report of which was accepted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

The report suggests over 41.6% children in Gujarat are stunted and 18.3% are severely stunted, for their age. The report 'Rapid Survey on Children' surveyed 1.05 lakh families in the country and met 2.10 people, including 90,000 children in the age group of 0 to 4 years.

The revelation underscores how malnutrition continues to torment Gujarat, an economically progressive state whose development model is to be replicated across India by the Union government.

Senior officials of the women and child development department, say that the government - including chief minister Anandiben Patel - refused to buy into the report, saying there has been a sharp decline in the number of malnourished children in the state.

According to the survey, 41.6% of children in Gujarat are stunted. Some 18.3% of the state's kids are categorized as being 'severely stunted'. The survey also found that 33.6% of children were underweight for their age, with 10.1% being categorized as 'severely underweight'. The number of severely underweight children is 11.3% in rural areas and 8.2% in urban areas. Among scheduled tribes, the proportion of severely underweight children is 13.8%.

Sources said this proportion of stunted children is greater than the national average which is 38.80% in India. Similarly, the proportion of underweight children in the country is 29.40% while in Gujarat it is 33.50%.

The socio-economic review 2015-16 had revealed that 1.47 lakh of the 43 lakh children at anganwadis in the state were found to be suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM).

Also according to replies tabled in the state assembly, there are 1.97 lakh malnourished and 24,762 SAM children in 46 talukas of five districts in the state - Banaskantha, Patan, Navsari, Junagadh and Kheda.

