Berhampur: Ganjam accounts for the highest number of children below five years who are at risk of malnourishment, government reports stated.
The reports estimate that more than 500 children have been affected by malnutrition in Ganjam district alone in the past one year.
As per government records, around 504 affected children were admitted to Berhampur City Hospital, Bhanjanagar sub-divisional hospital and Aska community health centre (CHC) for treatment between March 2017 and April 2018.
124 kids are under treatment in Aska, 166 in Bhanjanagar and 214 in Berhampur. Moreover, 19 children had to be shifted to other hospitals with superior facilities for better treatment. They include 255 boys and 249 girls.
While 240 affected children belong to the general category, 208 belong to SC category and another 56 belonged to ST category. The symptoms of malnutrition mostly include low body weight compared to their age and height. The kids have a skeletal structure with a protruding belly and skinny limbs, while their feet are swollen.
Lack of basic facilities in various parts of the district is seen as the key reason of severe child malnutrition in the district. Moreover, unhygienic environment creates a perfect ennviron for diseases to thrive, and malnutrition to flourish.
On the other hand, the absence of sanitation exposes the children to infectious diseases such as typhoid and diarrhoea, which rob them of their ability to absorb nutrients and make them vulnerable to various diseases.
Apart from poor sanitation, food and nutrition insecurity, lack of healthcare facility and extremely poor condition of public health, including water, are considered to be the primary reasons behind the children’s malnutrition.
“There is an urgent need to introduce nutrition as a development indicator. Moreover, the government should be able to launch more schemes and implement them with proper funding and monitoring,” a local observed.
