Bharat Chauhan New Delhi : India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
(MoHFW) this week released the results of the nation’s first ever
Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS), conducted from 2016-18 in
30 states/Union Territories across the country with technical support by
UNICEF. The survey was supported through generous financial support from
Aditya and Megha Mittal, the United Kingdom-based philanthropists.
The groundbreaking national study is one of the largest micronutrient surveys
ever conducted globally covering anthropometric assessments of 112,000
children from 0-19 years of age, including more than 51,000 biological samples
for children’s micronutrient status and risk factors for non-communicable
diseases.
According to the CNNS, in India, 35 per cent of children under five are stunted,
17 per cent are wasted and 33 per cent are underweight. For the first time, this
study provides national-scale evidence and information on a broad set of
indicators for all children and adolescents 0-19 years old which can be used to
target scaled up nationwide solutions.
The CNNS survey shows that there is some progress in reduction in
malnutrition, as well as effective reach of Government programmes to prevent
Vitamin A and iodine deficiency in children 1-4 years. At the same time, the
survey highlights that overweight and obesity increasingly begin in childhood
with a growing threat of non-communicable diseases like diabetes (10 per cent)
in school-aged children and adolescents.
The release of the survey has stimulated a national discussion about how to
analyse this data to target effective programmes combatting child malnutrition
and non-communicable diseases.
Health Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan commented on the release of the national
survey, “The CNNS gives us the first comprehensive national set of data about
child and adolescents nutrition, including the 5-14 year age group for the first
time. This will help the Government accelerate progress using evidence-based
policies and programmes to combat malnutrition and non-communicable
diseases like diabetes in children and adolescents.”
Speaking on the release of the study, Dr. Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF India
Country Representative, said, “The CNNS is an amazing wealth of information.
It is time for evidence-driven policy and action to save and children’s lives and
help every child fulfil potential. UNICEF is proud to partner with the Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare in this mammoth achievement. We are enormously
appreciative of the vision and commitment of Megha and Aditya Mittal. The
study would not have been possible without their support.”
Expressing their vision for India and their expectations from the outcome of the
study, Megha and Aditya Mittal, in a joint statement, said, “We wanted to
support a project that had a strong potential to support long-term systemic
change. The CNNS survey is unique in its size, scale, scope and potential for
driving change. We hope the data and analysis will lead to policy changes and
implementation of nutrition education programmes that will result in children
having more access to the nutrients they need to fulfil their potential and make
the most of their lives. This is important for every child and also for India,
which relies on the energy and skills of its people to continue to drive change.”
Key findings:
The POSHAN Abhiyaan 2018-22 has ambitious annual targets to reduce child
under nutrition (stunting and underweight) and low birth weight (2 per cent per
annum) and anaemia across age groups (3 per cent per annum) including by
creating a mass movement (Jan Andolan) for good nutrition in India. The CNNS
figures reveal that school-age children and adolescents are still at risk of
malnutrition and a lot of ground still needs to be covered:
1 in 4 adolescents aged 10-19 years remain thin for their age
5 per cent of adolescents aged 10-19 years old were overweight or obese
Another major concern for India is the high number of anaemic children,
adolescents and women in the country. Numerous studies suggest that poor
eating habits (not eating enough iron and vitamin C-rich foods including fruits
and vegetables) and limited access to healthcare are main causes for such a
high prevalence of anaemia. According to CNNS anaemia affects youngest
children and female adolescents the most:
Anaemia was significantly higher in children aged 1-4 years (41 per cent)
compared to other age groups. Anaemia prevalence in female adolescents aged
10-19 (40 per cent) years was two times higher than male adolescents (18 per
cent).
Overall, 41 per cent of children from 1-4 years, 24 per cent of those 5-9 years
and 29 per cent of adolescents 10-19 years were anaemic. CNNS used different
methods for anaemia estimation (venous blood and laboratory testing) and
results should not be directly compared to National Family Health Survey data.
Other nutritional causes of anaemia including vitamin B12 were measured.
Vitamin B12 deficiency ranged from 14 per cent to 31 per cent in 1-19 years of
age and was highest among adolescents.
3
The growing threat of non-communicable diseases was found in school age
children, with 10 per cent pre-diabetic and high triglycerides. Four per cent of
adolescents had high total cholesterol and high low-density lipoprotein (LDL).
Hypertension (high blood pressure) was found in 5 per cent of adolescents.
The CNNS report, factsheets and key indicators are available on
https://mohfw.gov.in and https://nutritionindia.info.
About UNICEF
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most
disadvantaged children. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child,
everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information about UNICEF
and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org.
Support us today to help every child survive and thrive! www.unicef.in/donate
For UNICEF India follow visit us on http://unicef.in/ and follow us
on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+ and LinkedIn
