While every second child in the country is malnourished, only five out of 10 major political parties have mentioned malnutrition in their election manifestos, Child Rights and You (CRY) has said.
The major political parties included for the analysis were Congress, BJP, DMK, AIADMK, CPI, CPI(M), SP, AITMC, AAP and NCP.
Of these, Congress, CPI, CPI(M) and NCP have spoken about measures to reduce malnutrition, and BJP has committed to eradicate it on a mission mode. “Parties like AAP, AIADMK, DMK, SP and AITMC have no mention of tackling an issue as grave as malnutrition,” CRY said in a release.
It said the National Family Health Survey-III has called the nutritional status of our children as grim, and the prime minister has called it a ‘national shame’.
CRY’s analysis points out that a comprehensive perspective on children is lacking across parties. Only four out of 10 parties (Cong, SP, CPI, CPI-M) have committed resource allocation in terms of percentage of GDP expenditure on health. Seven out of 10 parties (except AIADMK, NCP and INC) have committed themselves on education.
Only four parties have included child protection in their manifestos, and only five talk about implementation of Integrated Child Development System. Six talk of food security but only CPI(M) includes children in the scheme. Only four parties mention amending child labour law, it said.