Stunting in India: A Continued Public Health Emergency

All this notwithstanding national initiatives such as the POSHAN Abhiyaan to reduce stunting by two percentage points annually, progress is at a notoriously lethargic pace. The latest statistics document that 37 percent of children below the age of five are stunted compared to 38.4 percent in the previous year. This highlights the existence of deep systemic flaws in dealing with child malnutrition.

What Is Stunting and Why Is It Important?

Stunting-retarded growth and height caused by poor nutrition in the face of chronic malnutrition-has long-term adverse effects. It impedes brain and body growth, restricts academic and professional opportunities and reduces earnings later in life. Almost half of the children who are stunted start off small in life, which makes them do much focus on prenatal health.

The Major Causes of Stunting

1. Maternal Health: Anaemia during pregnancy, as well as the birth of children whilst the mother is still a teenager, contribute massively to the risk. Mothers who are young tend to be physically, as well as nutritionally underdeveloped. With the laws put in place, 7 percent of the women between the age of 15-19 years have started childbearing. Maternal education is critical; the rate of stunting is almost twice that of children whose mothers are uneducated.

2. Nutrition Gaps: Nutritional profiles of the foods are mostly high on carbohydrates and low on protein. Just 11 percent of children below age 2 get a minimally sufficient nourishment. Rates of exclusive breastfeeding are also low (64 percent below 6 months), and a subsequent rise in rates of C-section (more than 22 percent) disrupts early breastfeeding initiation.

3. Sanitation and Infection: Open defecation (19 percent of all households) pollutes environments thus causing frequent infections that interfere with the absorption of nutrients. This makes a cycle of sickness and under-feeding.

4. Socioeconomic Barriers: The lack of education, poverty, and access to healthcare and nutritious foods are the perpetuators of the intergenerational food malnutrition. Marginalised and tribal populations are overrepresented.

The Way Ahead

• Stunting must be combated on a multisectoral basis
• Empower antenatal and youth health services.
• Encourage varied, protein-magnum diets and breast-feeding.
• Enhance sanitation and availability of clean water.
• Increase the quality of program implementation, including enhancement of quality Anganwadi meals.
• Address the roots causes of inequality in income, education, and gender.

Unless governments across India initiate cohesive and rapid responses, the stunting epidemic is likely to further diminish human and national capital.