Report On Levels And Trends In Child Malnutrition: Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates:
UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), WHO (World Health Organization), World Bank Group have released a report titled- “Levels and trends in child malnutrition: Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates (JME)”, stating that in 2020, 18.7 % of Indian children were affected by Wasting caused by poor nutrient intake.
Findings of the Report:
- Half of all children with wasting in the world live in India.
- In 2022, an estimated 45 million children under five (6.8 %) were affected by wasting globally, of which 13.6 million were suffering from severe wasting.
- More than three quarters of all children with severe wasting live in Asia and another 22 % live in Africa.
- India had a stunting rate of 31.7 % in 2022, down from 41.6 % in 2012, a decade ago.
- Some 148.1 million of children under age five worldwide, were affected by stunting in 2022.
- Nearly all children affected lived in Asia (52 % of the global share) and Africa.
- There are 37 million children under five who are overweight globally, an increase of nearly four million since 2000.
- India had an overweight percentage of 2.8 % in 2022, compared to 2.2 % in 2012.
- There is insufficient progress to reach the 2025 World Health Assembly (WHA) global nutrition targets and UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goal target 2.2.
- WHA global Nutrition Targets are:
- Reduce stunting by 40% in children under 5
- Reduce the prevalence of anaemia by 50% among women in the age group of 19-49 years
- Ensure 30% reduction in low-birthweight
- Ensure no increase in childhood overweight;
- Increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months up to at least 50%
- Reduce and maintain childhood wasting to less than 5%.
