Firdous Hassan
Srinagar: A NITI Aayog report has revealed that over 15 lakh children below the age of five are suffering from acute malnutrition-related ailments including stunted growth in Jammu and Kashmir.
State Nutrition Profile of Jammu and Kashmir released by the NITI Aayog has revealed shocking facts about malnutrition among children and women.
As per the report, 15,50,267 children below the age of five are suffering from acute malnutrition, while 29,57,164 women are anemic and under-weight.
NITI Aayog had conducted `State Nutrition Profiles’ in 19 states and Union Territories. The study was conducted in collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Indian Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS), UNICEF, and Institute of Economic Growth (IEG).
As per the report, J&K has 2,51,393 stunted children (below five years) and 6,25,519 are anemic.
Anantnag tops the list with 27,578 stunted children followed by Srinagar 24,680, Kupwara 21,982, Jammu 20,718, and Budgam 19,025.
Stunting is the impaired growth and development that children experience from poor nutrition, repeated infection, and inadequate psychosocial stimulation.
Of the 6,25,519 anemic children, Anantnag tops the list with 69,576 followed by Kupwara 62,491, Budgam 54,203 Srinagar 51,730, and Baramulla 48,307.
As many as 1,83,259 children below the age of five are witnessing wasting (child who is too thin for his or her height and is the result of recent rapid weight loss or the failure to gain weight.)
Anantnag has 24,350 children witnessing wasting followed by Kupwara 22,158, Srinagar 13,911, Baramulla 13,902, and Jammu 13,812.
Around 202,131 children below the age of five are underweight. Anantnag tops with 27,675 underweight children followed by Kupwara 22,512, Rajouri 16,039, Budgam 14,623, and Jammu 13,505.
Similarly, 2957164 women are suffering from malnutrition in the UT. Of them, 2,763,920 are in the age group 15-49.
In the non-pregnant category, Jammu leads with 349,848 anemic women followed by Anantnag 240,841, Baramulla 223,242, Srinagar 219,726, and Kupwara 164,023.
In the pregnant category, Srinagar has 37,940 anemic women followed by Jammu 30,289, Baramulla 13, 105, Anantnag 12,408, and Udhampur 7,306.
Doctors claim that the lack of awareness is the main cause behind increasing malnutrition-related diseases in J&K. They said that nutrition is being ignored by the people due to which women, as well as children, suffer from various disorders.
