{"id":240670,"date":"2023-05-02T20:02:36","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T14:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=240670"},"modified":"2023-05-02T20:02:36","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T14:32:36","slug":"indias-hunger-paradox-self-sufficiency-in-production-does-not-necessarily-mean-food-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/indias-hunger-paradox-self-sufficiency-in-production-does-not-necessarily-mean-food-security\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s hunger paradox: Self-sufficiency in production does not necessarily mean food security"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source-<\/strong> The post is based on the article \u201cIndia\u2019s hunger paradox: Self-sufficiency in production does not necessarily mean food security\u201d published in \u201cThe Indian Express\u201d on 2nd May 2023.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: <\/strong>GS2- Poverty and hunger<\/p>\n

Relevance<\/strong>– Assessment of malnutrition and hunger<\/p>\n

News<\/strong>– As per fifth National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data, 18% of children between ages 6-23 months, did not eat any food whatsoever in the 24 hours preceding the survey.<\/p>\n

What are other statistics provided by NFHS5 related to food intake by children?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The zero-food prevalence <\/strong>was 30 % for infants aged 6-11 months, remains worryingly high at 13% among the 12-17 months old, and persists even among 18-23 months-old children at 8%.<\/p>\n

More than 80% had not consumed any protein-rich foods<\/strong> for an entire day.<\/p>\n

Close to 40% did not eat any grains for an entire day, and six out of 10 children do not consume milk or dairy of any form every day.<\/p>\n

What are the dietary requirements of children?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

According to the World Health Organisation<\/strong>, at six months of age, 33% of the daily calorie intake<\/strong> is expected to come from food. This proportion increases to 61% at 12 months of age. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The recommended calorie percentages mentioned here are the minimum amount <\/strong>that should come from food. It is presumed that the child obtains the remaining calories through breastfeeding.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Consequently, the percentage of food-sourced calories only increases further when a child cannot receive breast milk when needed.<\/p>\n

What are issues with NFHS surveys to assess the nutritional deprivation among the Indian population?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The assessment of the extent of nutritional deprivation <\/strong>among young children in India has relied on measures such as stunting, wasting, compared to a reference population.<\/strong><\/p>\n

These measures suggest overall deficiencies in the child\u2019s environmen<\/strong>t, without any guidance on the specific nature of the deficiencies. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Due to several factors that cause stunting or wasting<\/strong> among children, it is challenging for any single ministry, or department of the Government to take responsibility for designing, implementing and monitoring policies to reduce undernutrition among children.<\/p>\n

The well-documented intergenerational linkages<\/strong> between child stunting and parental height, makes it a problematic policy metri<\/strong>c for evaluating the effectiveness<\/strong> of current programmes and interventions.<\/p>\n

How can NFHS survey be improved to assess nutrition related metrics?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There is a need to improve the NFHS surveys<\/strong>. The 24-hour recall questions<\/strong> on consumption of various food items are currently asked only of the most recently born children under the age of two. It should be systematically extended to children under five years. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Questions for adults should also be based on a 24-hour recall<\/strong> following similar food items as the children\u2019s questions.<\/p>\n

To better understand food security for all populations in India, assessments using household-level food insecurity modules<\/strong> developed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation <\/strong>can be adapted.<\/p>\n

What is the way forward to tackle the issues of hunger and malnutrition in India?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The rising burden of cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases<\/strong> in India is strongly linked to diet and nutrition. A national effort <\/strong>to establish routine dietary and nutritional assessments<\/strong> for the entire population is the need of the hour.<\/p>\n

Measuring the availability, accessibility and affordability<\/strong> of nutritious food constitutes the foundation for any evidence-based policy<\/strong> to end hunger and improve nutritional security <\/strong>among Indians.<\/p>\n

India must achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 of \u201czero hunger\u201d, by 2030<\/strong>. The Mission Poshan 2.0\u00a0 programme<\/strong> is dedicated to it. However, to effectively monitor and assess<\/strong> the performance of Poshan 2.0, there is an immediate need to develop appropriate food-based metrics.<\/strong><\/p>\n

India should consider a strategic initiative <\/strong>led by the Prime Minister\u2019s Office aimed at eliminating food insecurity in India. It should\u00a0 ensure affordable access<\/strong> to sufficient quantity and quality of nutritionally diverse food<\/strong>, with a special and immediate focus on India\u2019s youngest children.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source- The post is based on the article \u201cIndia\u2019s hunger paradox: Self-sufficiency in production does not necessarily mean food security\u201d published in \u201cThe Indian Express\u201d on 2nd May 2023. Syllabus: GS2- Poverty and hunger Relevance– Assessment of malnutrition and hunger News– As per fifth National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data, 18% of children between ages… Continue reading India\u2019s hunger paradox: Self-sufficiency in production does not necessarily mean food security<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[212,10500],"class_list":["post-240670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-indian-express","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":9,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1700117044},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240670\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}