In the recently released report, 2021 Global Nutrition Report (GNR, 2021), India has made no progress on anaemia and childhood wasting.
Context
In the recently released report, 2021 Global Nutrition Report (GNR, 2021), India has made no progress on anaemia and childhood wasting.
Key-findings of the report
- India featured among the 161 countries documented in the report as having made no progress or said to be worsening with regards to reducing anaemia.
Anaemia
- Over half of Indian women in the age group 15-49 years are anaemic.
- There has been a rise in anaemic Indian women since 2016. In 2016, 52.6 per cent of Indian women were anaemic. But in 2020, 53 per cent were found to be anaemic.
Childhood wasting
- India is also among 23 countries that have made no progress or are worsening on reducing ‘childhood wasting’.
- Wasting refers to children whose weight is low-for-their height.
- Over 17 per cent of Indian children under 5 years of age are affected. This figure is much higher than the average for Asia where close to 9 per cent children are affected.
