nABARANGPUR: BASANT RATH.
The menace of malnutrition among children is
still haunting the backward Nabarangpur district. The number of infants
affected by severe malnutrition in the district crossed 3,359 while 355
children died in acute malnutrition between January and June this year.
Some reports quoting unofficial sources said a
sizeable chunk of child population in the age group of 0-5 years have died of
acute malnutrition. In rural areas with predominant tribal presence, things
have gone from bad to worse in the district.
According to the data available with the
district Women and Child Development Department, malnutrition is being detected
in around 3,359 children in the district. The data further puts the total
malnourished children death at 68 in January, 54 in February, 60 in March, 96
in April, 84 in May and 73 in June.
As the malnutrition is one of the prime reasons
behind the infant deaths in the district, the Government claims to be providing
nutritious food to pregnant women and infants till six years. However, the
programme appears to be defunct in reality. While the nutritious food items and
cooked food have been provided to infants of six months to five years of age
through the Anganwadi Centres, the quantity of supplying the items is allegedly
limited in many centres, sources said. In the centres, free food is supplied
and education is imparted to the children from zero to five years. Through
these centres, food is supplied to the pregnant women and children. It is
alleged that food is not supplied to most of the centres in time and the
concerned departments have not taken any steps in this regard.
Surprisingly, the SHGs are supplying low
standard and insufficient ‘Chatua’ which becomes a major cause of malnutrition
among the children and pregnant women. The SHGs have been engaged to supply
Chatua to these Anganwadi centres. It is alleged that these SHGs are being
controlled by the Anganwadi members. In these centres, 15 days food supply is
stretched to one month and the rest 15 days’ supply is embezzled among the
Anganwadi members, supervisors and other concerned officials.
There is an urgent need to change the fraudulent
SHGs and the concerned authority must look into the matter. The large number of
death of children in the past six months has caused serious concern in the
district.
Although there is provision for the treatment of
malnutrition children at Nabarangpur and Umerkote hospitals but such children
get no treatment.
