Main content

Covid: India's child malnutrition crisis

An estimated 115 million children in India are said to be at risk of malnutrition.

An estimated 115 million children in India are said to be at risk of malnutrition. Experts say India's Covid lockdowns interrupted crucial government schemes that benefit hundreds of millions of women and children.

The malnutrition rates were already on the rise in the years leading up to the Covid outbreak. India鈥檚 lockdowns, some of the severest anywhere in the world, have made matters worse. In fact, recent reports indicate stunting among children in some areas has gone up by as much as 20% in a matter of just a few months.

In this edition of WorklifeIndia, we discuss the challenges and the measures being taken to tackle child malnutrition during a devastating pandemic.

Presenter: Devina Gupta

Contributors: Dr Pavitra Mohan, co-founder, Basic HealthCare Services; Sophie Healy-Thow, food systems & nutrition activist, Ireland; Dr Sreehari M, state nodal officer - child health, NHM, Kerala

Available now

26 minutes

Last on

Sun 27 Jun 2021 04:32GMT

Image credit

Children stand in line during a free glass of milk and biscuit packet distribution organised by Kolkata police amid the coronavirus emergency in Kolkata, India, 23 May, 2021 (Credit: Indranil Aditya/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Broadcasts

  • Fri 25 Jun 2021 14:32GMT
  • Sat 26 Jun 2021 10:32GMT
  • Sat 26 Jun 2021 23:32GMT
  • Sun 27 Jun 2021 04:32GMT

Podcast