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Journalism of Courage
For the first time in about five years,India will have data on district-level malnutrition. The data has been collated by Hyderabad-based Naandi Foundation in a report titled HUNGaMA (hunger and malnutrition) which will be released by Prime Minister manmohan Singh Tuesday.
The district-level health data was collated for nine high-focus states in 2010 but that did not include the malnutrition data. According to that survey,49 per cent children in these states are undernourished the survey considered only weight as a measure of malnutrition and not stunted growth or wasted children
The Naandi survey covers the 100 worst-performing districts as listed by Unicef Child Development Index,2009 and compares them with the six best performing districts two each in Kerala,Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh. The survey is an outcome of the deliberations of the Citizens Alliance Against Malnutrition,which comprises several young MPs like Supriya Sule,Sachin Pilot.
Of the 100 worst-performing districts,40 are in Uttar Pradesh,22 in Bihar,15 in Jharkhand,12 in Madhya Pradesh,10 in Rajasthan and five in Orissa.
HUNGaMA report has evaluated malnutrition on three parameters,underweight,stunted growth and wasted,and for the first time includes voices of 74,000 mothers of malnourished children to understand the familial,social and economical problems basis of malnutrition.
