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"What happens to another, be that a joy or a sorrow, happens to me." (Meister Eckhart)

Major problem for our Children: High rate of malnutrition

According to India's National Nutritional Bureau, more than half the deaths of newborn to five-year-old children are directly or indirectly related to malnutrition and only nine percent are nutritionally normal.  Stunting is widespread in our children as they succumb to malnutrition in the first two years of their lives.

Children's nutrition should be a critical component of all programs dealing with the welfare of our children and our community at large.

Malnutrition leads to:

• Susceptibility to fatal infections such as TB, Gastroenteritis and Pneumonia
• Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
• Anemia
• Retarded physical growth
• Permanent retardation of brain development

In 2007 ,of the 3073 children 0 to 5 year old checked and followed, 99 were migrants and severe malnutrition rate in these children was 10.10%. In rest of the children the severe malnutrition rate ranged from 0.7% to 3.13% depending on the condition of the communities concerned. Our biggest draw back is the scourge of alcoholism in many of our communities in addition to Preterm Deliveries, IUGR (Intra-Uterine Growth Retardation), Cerebral Palsy, Adolescent Pregnancies, Tuberculosis and Congenital Heart Disease.

Though the process is slow and sometimes frustrating, it is certainly very worthwhile and extremely gratifying.