India: Caught Short, Why?

Indian Economy and Development is totally dependent on upcoming generation as children are touted to be future of the nation. India aims to be one of the top developed countries in the World but after the Water Aid report, an international non-profit organization, you will be shocked to core!

The survey mentions that in India, there are ‘n’ numbers of stunted children and there is big difference between the height, given the factors of weight and age. Many children do not have particular weight of height according to their age and this is concerning aspect for the nation.

Compared to all the countries across the Globe, India is on the first place to have highest number of stunted children. According to Water Aid organization, some of the factors that play a crucial role in stunted height are lack of purified water, no proper sanitation, and lack of nutrition. Across the Globe, 159 million children under the age of five are stunted one in four children. But in India, it is every 5 children, 2 are stunted.

Situation of Children:-

If India’s population is considered 125 crores, then according to present calculation approximately 16 crore population in India is occupied by children under 5 years, out of which 4 cr and 80 lakh children do not have proper height according to age or weight.
Almost 7 cr 60 lakh kids do not have basic facility of hygienic drinking water. Due to the same, every year almost 1 lakh 40 thousand children are prone to Diarrhea.

As per live news report, almost 60% of children in India face sanitation issues and India is ranked amongst first countries to have lack of sanitation, Nigeria on the second place and Pakistan on third position. 

The report also mentions that according to a recent study suggests that 54% of international variation in children’s height can be linked to open defecation, which spreads deadly diseases and makes children more susceptible to diarrhoeal illness and infection. India has made progress on reducing child stunting, from 48% of all children in 2006 to 39% in 2014.

United Nations Organisations (UNO) Millennium Targets:-

When will India achieve its goals?

Compared to China, Brazil, Vietnam, Thailand, India has more number of stunted children. The above countries are looking after proper nutrition of their countrymen and also making sure that each one gets basic necessities. But if India goes at this pace, then India will be free of stunted children only by 2043.

According to the latest news updates India loses almost 3% of GDP which is a big amount on stunted children, if adequate actions are taken then India can definitely erase the issue of stunted children, thus save a big amount from the economy and take a step towards developed country.

Interesting facts by Water Aid Organization

-Worldwide ratio of stunted children in 4:1 and in India it is 5:2
- The cause for ¼ stunted children is because of diarrhea.
- 88% of diarrhea is causes due to not washing hands properly.
- In spite of China being the most populated country, India has six times more stunted children.

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