As per the report of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) – 4 conducted by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2015-16, 35.7% children under 5 years of age are underweight and 38.4% are stunted indicating a reduction from the previous NFHS – 3 conducted in 2005-06, which reported 42.5% children under 5 years of age as underweight and 48% stunted.

As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) – 4 (2015-16), in the State of Rajasthan, 36.7% are underweight and 39.1% are stunted as compared to 39.9% being underweight and 43.7% as stunted as per NFHS-3 (2005-06), which indicates a reduction in the levels of malnutrition in children in the State.

The Government has accorded high priority to the issue of malnutrition and is implementing several schemes/programmes of different Ministries/Departments through States/UTs to address various aspects related to nutrition. The Ministry of WCDis implementing POSHAN Abhiyaan, Pradhan MantriMatruVandanaYojana, Anganwadi Services and Scheme for Adolescent Girls under the Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services Scheme as direct targeted interventions to address the problem of malnutrition in the country including the State of Rajasthan.

Under the Anganwadi Services of the Umbrella ICDS Scheme, Supplementary Nutrition is provided to children under 6 years of age in the form of Take Home Ration, Morning Snacks and Hot Cooked Meals as per the provisions of the National Food Security Act, 2013. The Supplementary Nutrition is provided to bridge the gap between the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) and the Average Daily Intake (ADI) among this age group as per the nutritional norms provided under Schedule II of the Act. Severely malnourished children are provided additional nutrition in the form of food supplement providing 800 Kcal of energy and 20-25 g of protein.

Further, as per information received from Government of Rajasthan, nutrition counselling is carried out for the parents of malnourished children by ASHAs and Anganwadi Workers, and children with severe acute malnutrition are referred to the nearest Malnutrition Treatment Center.

This information was given by the Minister of Women and Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

 

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