Survey in Gurugram district identifies 800 severely malnourished children

Gurugram:

Gurugram:

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At least 800 severely acute malnourished (SAM) children have been identified in a recent survey conducted by the district women and child development department.

Covering more than 51,000 kids (from infants to five years of age), the survey has been conducted in the district for the first time, especially to identify severely malnourished (low weight- for-height) and stunted (low height-for-age) children, according to officials.

Survey data shows that out of the 51,923 children, 3,619 were stunted, 803 were severely malnourished and 1,377 were moderately malnourished. Among them, about 52% are male kids. Of the 803 severely malnourished, 298 were traced in Sohna block, followed by 211 in Gurugram block, 149 in Pataudi, and 64 in Farrukhnagar. At least 81 from other rural pockets.

Sunaina Khatri, district programme officer, women and child development department, said the team is analysing the reasons behind the malnourishment — the socio-economic status of the family, hygienic condition of the home, awareness about balanced diet among other factors.

“We have tried to cover maximum rural areas where we have an existing anganwadi. The figures are likely to change as due to migration, people who left Gurugram might come back again. Since it is for the first time that such an extensive survey has been conducted, it is difficult to say anything on the complexity of the problem for a district such as Gurugram,” said Khatri.

The new survey was conducted over the last two months by the department under the Poshan Abhiyan or the National Nutrition Mission. Until then, the department was taking data of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2015-16 for all policy-related matters, where the sample size of the survey was less, according to Khatri.

“Although the Poshan Abhiyan was rolled out in 2018, it kickstarted in Gurugram in September 2019. The survey under it had to start in February this year. It had to be put on hold due to the outbreak of the Covid-19,” said Khatri.

In February, the department received all the equipment required to measure the exact height and weight of the infants and those below five years of age. “Earlier we had only one lifting weighing scale. There was no equipment to measure height and find stunted or wasted kids,” said Khatri. Therefore, to trace malnourished children, the department received proper baby weighing machines, infantiometre to measure the height of an infant and stadiometer to check the height of children above one year who can stand.

“Due to Covid-19, it was a challenging task for the team to take measurements of the child as parents did not allow to touch the kids. In rural areas, it is difficult as villagers have inhibitions. The ground team managed to do it as they carried machines with them and sought help from parents in taking the measurements,” said Sushma, one of the supervisors.

Taking the issue on a priority, the district administration is trying to take assistance from private hospitals. Prashant Panwar, additional deputy commissioner, said it is critical to identify malnourished kids in the district for they are not missed out. “To address the situation of malnourishment, the district administration has reached out to private hospitals to help our teams. We are yet to get confirmation but the issue will be taken on a priority,” said Panwar.

Anganwadis where children used to get hot cooked meals at the village level and in urban slums under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) have been closed for several months due to the Covid-19 situation.

“Since Gurugram block is mostly urban, there are hardly any anganwadis except in areas near slums. In other blocks like Sohna, Pataudi and Farrukhnagar, there are proper anganwadis where cooked meals were served to the children and lactating mothers before Covid-19,” she said. Presently, the department is only providing fortified milk powder to the families of the affected children registered under 1333 anganwadis of the district.

Basanta Kumar Kar, who has worked for more than two decades on malnutrition in South East Asia, said, “The numbers are high if stunting and SAM figures are combined. Severely malnourished children should be sent to the nutrition rehabilitation centre for proper monitoring and care, while steps should be taken to prevent moderately malnourished kids from getting severely undernourished. These kids should be monitored regularly, ensuring they get proper nutritional supplement along with maintaining basic hygiene and sanitation.”