UTTAR PRADESH AND BIHAR TOP THE LIST - ‘9.27L severely acute malnourished children identified'

More than 9.2 lakh children in India are severely acute malnourished’, with the most in Uttar Pradesh followed by Bihar, according to government data, underscoring concerns that the Covid pandemic could exacerbate the health and nutrition crisis among the poorest of the poor.

The identification of SAM children was done by over 10 lakh Anganwadi centres from across the country

NEW DELHI:

An estimated 9,27,606 severely acute malnourished’ children from six months to six years were identified across the country till November last year, the Women and Child Development Ministry said in response to an RTI query. Of these, Uttar Pradesh counted for 3,98,359 and Bihar 2,79,427, according to the figures shared by the ministry. Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Nagaland, Manipur and Madhya Pradesh reported no severely malnourished children. Except for Ladakh, none of the Anganwadi centres in the other four, including Madhya Pradesh, one of India’s largest states, reported any data on the matter, according to the RTI reply.