50% children in India suffer from malnutrition: NHRC

The National Human Rights Commission said nearly half of the country’s children are not getting proper diet.

In the wake of deaths of a large number of children in Madhya Pradesh allegedly due to malnutrition, the National Human Rights Commission on Thursday said nearly half of the country’s children are not getting proper diet.

“Nearly 50 per cent children in India suffer from malnutrition. It is one of the worst problems we have,” NHRC chairman Justice S Rajendra Babu said.

Babu said a lot of schemes have been launched by the government for the welfare of children but all kids were not covered by them.

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“Government has taken up many programmes. But no programme is good enough to cover all children,” he said.

The NHRC chief claimed that government schemes meant for the benefit of children were not working properly else reports of malnutrition death would not have come.

“Government welfare programmes are not working in the manner they should be. They are not reaching to the needy.

Otherwise, so many deaths would not have taken place in Madhya Pradesh,” he said.

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According to a petition filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court by NGO Madhya Pradesh Right to Food Campaign, 159 children have died due to malnutrition in Shivpuri, Sheopur, Satna and Khandwa districts between May 8 and September 10.

“Whenever we get such reports, we inform the government. But unfortunately, the government’s response is always routine — that no such deaths have taken place. They say that they were suffering from some other diseases,” he said.

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