AHMEDABAD: More than 2.57 lakh children in Gujarat are currently suffering from malnutrition, the state government informed the Legislative Assembly on Saturday, bringing renewed focus on the scale of the nutrition challenge across the state.
In a written reply tabled in the House, the government said 2,57,269 children across 30 districts are malnourished. Of these, 2,11,635 children are underweight, while 45,634 are classified as severely underweight.
The information was provided by the State Minister for Women and Child Welfare in response to questions raised by legislators of the Indian National Congress.
District-wise data shows that several tribal-dominated districts account for a large share of the cases. Panchmahal reported the highest number of malnourished children at 20,762, including 16,836 underweight and 3,926 severely underweight children.
Banaskantha recorded 19,391 malnourished children, followed by Kheda with 18,590 cases. Other districts with high numbers include Sabarkantha (16,588), Dahod (16,388) and Chhota Udepur (16,322).
Chhota Udepur reported the highest number of severely underweight children in the state, with 4,048 cases. Panchmahal followed with 3,926 severely underweight children, while Kheda reported 3,471 and Banaskantha 3,268.
The data also indicates that the issue is not limited to tribal regions. Vadodara recorded 12,766 malnourished children, while Bhavnagar (11,648), Kutch (11,546) and Bharuch (11,453) were also among the worst-affected districts.
Urban districts reported notable figures as well. Ahmedabad recorded 6,411 malnourished children, including 999 severely underweight cases, while Gandhinagar reported 6,467. Anand (6,352) and Mehsana (5,635) also reported significant numbers.
At the lower end of the list, Porbandar reported the lowest figure with 666 malnourished children, followed by Botad (2,583) and Dang (3,220).
The government data also showed a rise in malnutrition cases in some districts. Kheda recorded the highest increase with 689 additional cases, followed by Chhota Udepur with 275 and Amreli with 222. Morbi reported an increase of 50 cases.
The figures were presented in the Assembly amid discussions on child welfare and nutrition in the state.