2 months ago
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Child malnutrition successful Gujarat became the taxable of a statement successful the Legislative Assembly connected Thursday (March 12, 2026). During a treatment connected the budgetary demands of the Women and Child Development Department, with Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani raised an contented saying, “Despite this BJP authorities with much than 150 seats and 28 years of rule, lone 1 fig comes connected record, that 40 retired of 100 children are malnourished. A precise ample conception of them are tribals.”
Women and Child Development Minister Manisha Vakil responded that the Opposition was relying connected figures from the National Family Health Survey (2019-21) and asked members to “update your knowledge”.
Ms. Vakil told the Assembly that, according to the Poshan Tracker system, “only 11.4% of children successful Gujarat” were malnourished arsenic of January 2026, and said this showed a crisp diminution successful caller years.
But the Poshan Tracker and NFHS usage antithetic methods and cannot beryllium straight compared. NFHS is simply a sample-based household survey conducted connected a typical population, portion the Poshan Tracker is simply a real-time monitoring strategy nether Mission Poshan 2.0 that records maturation information for children registered astatine anganwadi centres.
“There are respective issues successful utilizing Poshan Tracker information to antagonistic NFHS figures. Poshan Tracker is expected to beryllium a implicit census of children attending oregon astatine slightest enrolled astatine anganwadis, we bash not cognize however implicit the accusation is. NFHS information connected the different manus is expected to beryllium typical of the full colonisation (including children who bash not spell to anganwadis),” said Economist Reetika Khera.
The 2 datasets screen antithetic populations and usage antithetic methods and their figures are not strictly comparable.
“We bash not cognize to what grade 1 tin instrumentality Poshan Tracker information astatine look value. Anganwadi workers are nether unit to support information introduction connected the Tracker updated and they acquisition each kinds of issues with the app and connectivity, truthful often they conscionable participate immoderate data, which whitethorn oregon whitethorn not bespeak the child’s existent value and height. Because determination is truthful small transparency, we are not good placed to measure completeness of information and its reliability,” she added.
The latest publically disposable Poshan Tracker information for July 2025 provides abstracted figures for stunting, wasting and underweight alternatively than a azygous combined malnutrition percentage. It shows that astir 32.7% of children were stunted, 7.3% were wasted and 18.4% were underweight successful Gujarat. Among 36 States and Union Territories, the State ranks 21st successful stunting and 31st successful some wasting and underweight, placing it successful the poorest performers bracket among States successful cardinal malnutrition indicators.
NFHS-5 (2019-21) besides remains the latest circular of the nationally typical survey connected wellness and nutrition released truthful far, and the results for NFHS-6 (scheduled for 2023-24) are yet to beryllium published.
In NFHS-5, 39% of children nether the property of 5 successful Gujarat were stunted (low tallness for age), 25.1% were wasted (low value for height), and 39.7% were underweight (low value for age). NFHS does not study a azygous wide malnutrition percent and these indicators are wide utilized to measure kid malnutrition. Similar levels were recorded successful NFHS-4 (2015-16), erstwhile 38.5% of children were stunted, 26.4% were wasted and 39.3% were underweight.
Stunting and underweight levels are some adjacent to 40%, truthful the connection that astir “40 retired of 100 children” are malnourished is accordant with NFHS findings, depending connected which indicator is used.
Mr Mevani besides said that “a ample proportionality of them belonged to tribal communities.” District level figures based connected NFHS-5 amusement that respective of the worst performing districts are among those identified arsenic tribal districts by the Tribal Development Department of the Gujarat government.
In the lawsuit of stunting, 4 of the 5 worst affected districts: Dahod (55.3% stunted), Chhota Udaipur (48.6%), Narmada (47.2%) and Panchmahal (47.1%) are tribal districts. Wasting shows a akin pattern, with The Dangs (40.9% wasted), Tapi (36.6%), Panchmahal (35.7%) and Sabarkantha (33.1%) besides ranking among the highest, each of them tribal districts.
In the lawsuit of underweight, each 5 of the worst affected districts are tribal districts: The Dangs (53.1% underweight), Dahod (53%), Narmada (52.8%), Panchmahal (51.9%) and Tapi (51.8%).
The assertion that astir 40% of children successful Gujarat are malnourished is frankincense supported by NFHS-5 information which shows that stunting and underweight levels are adjacent to the claim. District level information besides shows that respective of the worst affected districts are tribal districts, pointing to a higher load of malnutrition successful tribal communities.
