Food is one of the cornerstones of proper health. Moreover, nutritious food supplied within 0-2 years of age (scientifically justified formative years of a child) is key to bolstering child health early on. While India has increased spending in many areas (military, technology etc - think the probe to the moon, Tata's new mini-cars..), basic public health areas, malnutrition initiatives being just one of them, continue to receive pithy portions of that spending pie. Furthermore, the extent to which malnutrition rates are reduced based on existing initiatives is not clear.
Nutrition is simply one part of the problem. Two of the world's richest men in the world hail from India. Some of the poorest people in the world also live in India. If India is to create a middle-class bourgeoisie, and move the masses to from one economic class to another to close the gap between the rich and the poor, its government needs to be intentional in ensuring that essentials such as health and nutrition are not being tossed to the wayside.
If all goes well, I hope to be involved later this year in a nutrition project in India, and as part of my master's degree, have to write a policy document to help inform policies surrounding this problem. As someone hoping to affect change in this area, it is exciting to see well-informed news coverage and dialogue on this issue. But more importantly, we need to remember to use information such as this to hold the leaders of our nations accountable to gross inadequacies in planning for proper health and well-being of their citizens.
Devina, a lot of malnutrition in India happens because of illiteracy and ignorance. I have seen it up close. The dependence on refined white rice for example. Also the consumption of vegetables and fruits in India amongst the poor is not much. At least I do not see it in the urban slums. Healthy traditional diets are being abandoned because of the hectic lifestyle of the cities. I feel that one of the requirements in India is nutrition education. There is also a lot of superstition involved around eating, not eating some type of food at certain times, not eating A food with B food, not eating C food when one is sick and so on. Most of these beliefs have no scientific basis and often involve healthy foods. The importance of eating protein food also needs to be emphasized.
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