GUNTUR: Due to the lack of a nutritious diet, the growth and development of children and pregnant women has deteriorated during the pandemic period. According to the latest National Family Health Survey-2020, it has been learnt that 62,489 children are showing poor growth and 28,436 are suffering from stunted growth.
On the other hand, about 39,869 mothers-to-be are suffering from anaemia. About 94,436 children below 5 years of age are underweight and 1,87,010 children have anaemia. The main reason for these poor results is the lack of a balanced diet. Both the Central and State governments have allotted a budget to provide a healthy diet for children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers through the Child Welfare and Development scheme.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has also been implementing the Poshan scheme in various states of the country, following the guidelines of the WHO with the coordination of International Food Policy and Research Institution, Public Health Foundation of India and Institute of Development Studies. Due to Covid, the nutritious meals provided by Anganwadis and mid-day meals at schools distributed to the children and pregnant women took a hit. The slump in the economic conditions of the families has also contributed to poor growth and development.
ICDS officials said as many as 37,482 pregnant women and 2,34,647 children between seven months and six years of age are enrolled in ICDS in the district. “We are gathering data of children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers at ground-level, through some applications. We will take necessary action for better results and improve the scenario.”