Issue of Malnutrition in Madhya Pradesh :

Malnutrition is such a vicious circle, which apart from affecting the pregnant mothers also starts engulfing the yet to be born children. Such children see the light of day with a pre-determined fate coupled with poverty and hunger. Thus, they are born with all round darkness surrounding them with no ray of hope of any improvement in their future life. Malnutrition adversely affects not only the proper physical development of a person but also restricts the mental development.

According to the National Family Health Survey III highlighted the fact that during last eight years (1998-2006), the percent of malnourished children had increased by a serious five percent. Owing to dearth of nutritious food, health facilities and family food insecurity, the percent of malnutrition (underweight) increased from 54% to 60.3%. It’s not the end of the story. It also says that only 14% children under the age of 3 Years breastfed within one hour of Birth and 82.6% of Children between the age of 6-35 Months (the most critical period of life for mental and physical development) are anemic. On the other hand on the basis of their own data, Government of Madhya Pradesh has been claiming that the ration of Under-Nourishment has come down to somewhere around 49% but field realities, (like Sheopur) do not support State claims. Some programmes and schemes started in state are :

Integrated Child Development Scheme  : Well realizing the fact that with continued malnutrition and state of hunger, a healthy and productive society, based on equality, cannot be developed and as such, the Government, in the year 1975, launched an Integrated Child Development Scheme. The sole purpose of the Scheme was to make the childhood a healthy one for transforming itself into a strong, healthy and all round physically fit younger generation. Under this wider perspective, the Aaganwari programme was initiated.

The Integrated Child Development Scheme is the only scheme launched to eradicate malnutrition. It is being implemented through a widespread network of Aaganwaris and is expected to provide nutritious food, pre-school education, and health services to children, pregnant and lactating mothers. Although, apparently at ground level, the working performance of has been affected for multiple reasons, such as, insufficient number of Aaganwaris, lower remuneration to its workers, non-availability of swinging place for children less than 3 years of age, etc., but in wider perspective, lack of political will and lower priority in budgetary provisions, had its definitive impact over the non-effective functioning of Aaganwaris.

Atal Bal Arogya Evam Poshan Mission : One approach to the problem is to concentrate on using local help. The Angan Wadi Centres (AWC) established by the Atal Bal Arogya Evam Poshan Mission, an initiative of the Madhya Pradesh Government, hires Angan Wadi Workers to improve health education to pregnant women, provide nutritional food to expecting mothers as well as young children and to provide pre-school education to children between three to six years of age. These workers are also responsible for accessing and screening children, who are severely and moderately malnourished in the district and provide linkages to treatments and services for the same.

Better maternal care could improve child nutrition : To improve child health in the state, MP should pay more attention to breastfeeding and antenatal care, both of which are linked to better health outcomes for children. In MP, out of 21 districts in which breastfeeding rates were below the state average of 58.2%, 16 districts had a higher proportion of severely wasted children than the state average of 9.2%.Exclusive breastfeeding for six months, as recommended by the World Health Organisation, is linked to a reduction in the levels of stunting and wasting in children, according to this study from 2013.

          Madhya Pradesh has 6.6% of the country's child population under the age of five years, children who will makeup 158.7 million of India's demographic dividend. Women’s empowerment, better sanitation, and improvement in maternal health could improve the nutritional status of children in Madhya Pradesh (MP), the state with 42% of its children under five years stunted or, short for their age–the fifth highest rate in the country.