BHOPAL: There are 1.36 lakh children registered as malnourished in Madhya Pradesh. Out of this total of 1,36,252 malnourished children, 29,830 (or 22%) are Severely Acute Malnourished (SAM), while 106,422 (or 78%) are Moderately Acute Malnourished (MAM).
These figures regarding the total number of malnourished children registered under the Mukhyamantri Bal Arogya Samvardhan Program until January 30, 2024, were provided by the state’s Minister of Women and Child Development, Nirmala Bhuria, in response to a question posed by Congress MLA Atif Arif Aqeel in the Vidhan Sabha on Friday.
The majority of these malnourished children reside in the tribal-dominated districts of the state. It is noteworthy that the Mukhyamantri Bal Arogya Samvardhan Program, dedicated to children, was launched in 2021-2022 by the then Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.
A breakdown of the figures indicates that while the districts in western and southwestern Madhya Pradesh, predominantly inhabited by the Bhil and Bhilala tribes, have more SAM children, the eastern and southeastern districts, dominated by the Gond, Kol, Baiga, and Bharia tribes, have higher numbers of MAM and total malnourished children.
In the 11 districts of eastern and southeastern Madhya Pradesh, there are 34,490 SAM and MAM children, constituting around 25% of the state’s total. In comparison, the 10 districts in western and southwestern Madhya Pradesh house a total of 32,306 SAM and MAM children, accounting for 23% of the state’s total.
The western districts of Madhya Pradesh, encompassing the Indore and Ujjain regions, have a higher prevalence of SAM children compared to the eastern and even southeastern districts. These 11 districts accommodate 8,101 SAM children, constituting 27% of the total 29,830 SAM children registered under the dedicated program for malnourished children.
Furthermore, districts housing particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs), including the Baiga, Bharia, and Saharia tribes, have reported substantial numbers of both SAM and MAM children.
The top five districts housing MAM children include Chhindwara (7,763), Dhar (7,313), Barwani (5,095), Rewa (3,986), and Satna (3,921). Conversely, the top five districts housing the most SAM children are Dhar (2,411), Chhindwara (1,864), Barwani (1,513), Rewa (1,453), and Satna (1,136).
Among the districts housing PVTGs, Chhindwara, dominated by the Bharia tribe, has 1,864 SAM and 7,763 MAM children registered under the state government’s program.
In eastern Madhya Pradesh, among districts housing other PVTGs like the Baiga tribe, Mandla has 491 SAM and 1,671 MAM children, Dindori has 406 SAM and 992 MAM children, and Shahdol has 552 SAM and 2,145 MAM children.