“Discouraging Numbers”
(हतोत्साहित करने वाला आँकड़ा)
Early data from NFHS-5 show decline in key anthropometric (मानवशास्त्रीय/मानवविज्ञानी; relating to the scientific study of the measurements and proportions of the human body) and nutrition indicators
With a debilitating (दुर्बल; causing or making physically weak) death toll (क्षति/आँकड़े; suffering or damage) and an economic recession, India has had among the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is anecdotal (उपाख्यानात्मक; not based on facts or study) evidence that the pandemic and lockdown measures have led to new complications (जटिलताएं; something that makes a situation more difficult) related to food consumption and food security for impoverished (गरीब/कंगाल; extremely poor) Indians.
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But an express indication of the possible scale of the crisis can be gleaned (सूचना प्राप्त करना/बटोरना; to collect information in small amounts and often with difficulty) from the data from the newly released National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2019-20 which was conducted before the pandemic and its impact.
The partially released early data from NFHS-5 for 22 States/Union Territories — data for U.P., M.P. Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Punjab, Jharkhand and Odisha are not yet out — shows a disappointing record on metrics such as child nutrition and adult anthropometric measurements, suggesting the exacerbation (बढ़ा देना; to make something that is already bad even worse) now of an already fraught situation (विकट स्थिति; unpleasant situation such as problems or dangers).
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NFHS-5 shows that four key metrics for the nutritional status of children declined in 2019-20 compared to levels in 2015-16 (NFHS-4) in many of the surveyed States. Gujarat, Maharashtra and West Bengal recorded an increase in the percentage of anaemic (खून की कमी suffering from anaemia, with not enough red blood cells in the blood) and wasted (कमज़ोर/क्षीण; low weight for height; very thin and weak) children compared to even the 2005-06 survey.
In the key indicator of childhood stunting (वृद्धिरोध; to slow or prevent the growth or development of someone or something), there has been an increase in 13 of the 22 States/UTs in comparison to NFHS-4, with a noticeable improvement only in Bihar and Assam.
Even here, the reduction in stunting numbers is lower than the government’s targets. Bihar has shown a promising decline of 5.4 % points in stunting, but still retains the highest percentage of stunted children (42.9%) among big States.
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On the flip side, NFHS-5 also flags improvements in other factors that contribute to malnutrition (कुपोषण; physical weakness and bad health caused by a lack of food or nutritious food) and poor health outcomes — in access to sanitation and clean cooking fuels.
In indicators related to women’s well-being (with variance across States), spousal (पति-पत्नी संबंधि; relating to husbands and wives) violence declined in 17 of 22 States/UTs, child marriage declined in 18, and access to bank accounts rose in all of them, compared to NFHS-4.
But the persistence (दृढ़ता; the act of continuing doing something despite difficulty or opposition) of poor anthropometric measures related to hunger and nutrition suggests that existing programmes to address them, such as POSHAN Abhiyaan, will need a push and focus to meet targets such as the 2%point decrease in childhood stunting every year.
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More importantly, the complications arising out of the pandemic should make the Centre and States refocus on welfare delivery as a concerted strategy (संगठित/ठोस रणनीति; to do something determined and serious) to eradicate (उन्मूलन/मिटा देना; to get rid of something bad completely) hunger and extreme poverty.
This is an imperative (अनिवार्य/अत्यावश्यक;
extremely important or urgent) that would not just meet the UN’s Sustainable
Development Goal targets but will also ensure the well-being of citizens in a
country that showed significant promise in combining economic growth and
general welfare in the last couple of decades before encountering (सामना करना; to meet someone unexpectedly, or to
experience something unpleasant) major reversals
(उलटफेर/परिवर्तन; a
complete change of direction, order, or position) lately.
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