MP: Number of malnourished kids in Sheopur rises after campaign, administration shocked

BHOPAL: A campaign in Sheopur to improve malnourishment among children has not only failed to give the desired result, but actually increased the cases. When the campaign was launched in July this year, the number of malnourished kids in the region was 800. It rose to 850 in October after the campaign got over.

The district administration in Sheopur was shocked to learn about the situation.

One of the worst-affected districts, Sheopur has a large number of malnourished tribal children in Madhya Pradesh . According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 55 per cent children in Sheopur district under five years are malnourished while the number is 42.8 per cent for Madhya Pradesh.

Under stress to improve the health situation of the large number of malnourished children in Sheopur, the administration carries out many campaigns and then prepares the monthly progress report (MPR).

"We identifiy these children and put them in different categories of malnourishment, includng the severely underweight (SUW) childen category, commonly known as extremely mlnourished," government sources said.

In one such campaign carried out between June and August -- considered as the worst period for malnourished children, the campaign was launched for 800 identified children, but to the administration's surprise, the number went up to 850, sources said.

The district programe officer of woman and child development department in Sheopur OP Pande said, "It looks like a statistical error. We are cross-checking the figures."

He said that during the campaign, the take-home ration was cooked and served at anganwandi centres. besides, the children were also giver multivitamin and iron supplements.