Kids’ health goes for peanuts in MP
BHOPAL, 1 NOV: “Anda is not our funda”, declared Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mr Shivraj Singh Chauhan recently, citing the cultural history of vegetarianism in these parts to explain why eggs will not be provided in anganwadis as a part of the Atal Bal Arogya Mission set to be launched later this month. The devastating realities of severely malnourished children in Dalit and tribal communities across the state, and the fact that these communities have a long history of “non-vegetarian” food in their diets, appear to be of no consequence.
The Statesman visited anganwadis in the interiors of the state where children will be denied the nutrition provided by eggs and the response from those working in the field was unanimous ~ in dabbling in the politics of symbolism, the chief minister has betrayed a feudal, upper-caste mindset and bowed to the wishes of leaders of a particular community that values vegetarianism as a core belief at the cost of the health of Dalit and tribal children.
The data would seem to lend credence to this criticism. As many as one million children under the age of five have died due to malnutrition in the state over the past 10 years. MP tops the nation in both infant mortality rates and the prevalence of malnutrition. Today, 60 per cent or 6.6 million children under the age of six suffer from malnutrition in the state, of whom 1.26 million are classified as “severely malnourished”. Dalit and tribal children are disproportionately affected. A whopping 72 per cent of all tribal children in Madhya Pradesh suffer from malnutrition.
The irony is that after a decade spent in denial over child deaths from malnutrition, the state government finally responded with its own state-level effort to address the issue in the form of the Atal Bal Arogya Mission. But the controversy over the non-inclusion of eggs has shifted the focus away from this well-intentioned effort to combat malnutrition among children from deprived backgrounds. The issue came to a head after the editor of a local Hindi daily published an article on the provision of eggs in the draft plan of the Atal Bal Arogya Mission. The article quoted a powerful Jain monk, Tarun Sagar, who said that the government providing eggs in anganwadis was akin to the end of the world ~ anarth ho jayega.”
The impact of the article was immediate. A decision to exclude eggs from the diet meant for malnourished kids was taken by a five-member state Cabinet subcommittee on the same day. Both the women and child development minister Mrs Ranjana Baghel and the Tribal welfare minister Mr Vijay Shah, who strongly advocated the inclusion of eggs as necessary to combat malnutrition, were overruled. Strong opposition to the proposal to provide children eggs in their diet came from education minister Mrs Archana Chitnis, panchayat and social welfare minister Mr Gopal Bhargava and water resources and environment minister Mr Jayant Malaiya and they carried the day with the chief minister’s support. Mrs Chitnis is RSS schooled, Mr Bhargava is known to be a staunch Brahmin and Mr Malaiya is a Jain. Hailing the decision and Mr Chauhan’s support for it as a “victory”, prominent members of the Jain community have been publicly congratulating the chief minister. Indeed, in the weeks following the decision, top politicians, administrators, and police officers have been seen paying obeisance to the Jain monk at public functions in Bhopal.
Eggs as a part of breakfast for severely malnourished children have been replaced by a mixture of jaggery, horse gram, and peanuts in the state’s “modified” draft. Mr Sachin Jain, state advisor to the Supreme Court-appointed Right-to-Food Commissioners, has spoken out against the imposition of his community’s food preferences on nutrition policy. According to Mr Jain, the government’s proposed alternative to eggs is difficult for malnourished children to digest because of their weak digestive systems. “Boiled eggs are soft, easily digestible, and a richer source of essential nutrients for children,” he told The Statesman.
The trickle-down effect, as it were, of the chief minister’s decision has left administrators stunned. In the district of Indore, for example, since March this year, women and child department officials led by the Collector Mr Raghavendra Singh have been motivating panchayats to provide milk and eggs in anganwadis for severely malnourished children. The results have been significant. Over a five-month period, of the 4,132 children suffering from severe and acute malnutrition (SAM), 3,077 have experienced weight gain, 1,452 improved to the moderate and mild malnutrition (MAM) category, and 310 recovered completely. Mr Singh said the Indore district programme was a decentralised one based on the demand from the ground. If
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Kids’ health goes for peanuts in MP:
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a written order from Bhopal materialises, however, officials say they will be left with no option but to discontinue providing eggs in anganwadis.
This reporter found children in the anganwadis of Choral, Simrol, and Gwalu panchayats of Indore readily consuming eggs and milk ~ and there is widespread acceptance amongst Hindu, Muslim, and tribal communities of the benefits of eggs in combating malnutrition amongst their children. “We never ate eggs at home but considering how weak my daughter was we agreed to let her eat eggs at the anganwadi and her health really improved,” said Choral resident Mrs Lalita Yadav whose two-year-old daughter was severely malnourished but gained two-and-a-half kilograms over the past four months.
According to Dr Veena Shatrugna, former deputy director, National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, the amino acids that make up proteins in milk and eggs most closely mirror those in humans and obtaining an equal amount of protein through pulses and cereals in one meal would mean having to provide many different sources. “I cannot think of a more complete food than eggs for malnourished children,” she said, expressing dismay at the decision of the Madhya Pradesh government.
The Statesman visited anganwadis in the interiors of the state where children will be denied the nutrition provided by eggs and the response from those working in the field was unanimous ~ in dabbling in the politics of symbolism, the chief minister has betrayed a feudal, upper-caste mindset and bowed to the wishes of leaders of a particular community that values vegetarianism as a core belief at the cost of the health of Dalit and tribal children.
The data would seem to lend credence to this criticism. As many as one million children under the age of five have died due to malnutrition in the state over the past 10 years. MP tops the nation in both infant mortality rates and the prevalence of malnutrition. Today, 60 per cent or 6.6 million children under the age of six suffer from malnutrition in the state, of whom 1.26 million are classified as “severely malnourished”. Dalit and tribal children are disproportionately affected. A whopping 72 per cent of all tribal children in Madhya Pradesh suffer from malnutrition.
The irony is that after a decade spent in denial over child deaths from malnutrition, the state government finally responded with its own state-level effort to address the issue in the form of the Atal Bal Arogya Mission. But the controversy over the non-inclusion of eggs has shifted the focus away from this well-intentioned effort to combat malnutrition among children from deprived backgrounds. The issue came to a head after the editor of a local Hindi daily published an article on the provision of eggs in the draft plan of the Atal Bal Arogya Mission. The article quoted a powerful Jain monk, Tarun Sagar, who said that the government providing eggs in anganwadis was akin to the end of the world ~ anarth ho jayega.”
The impact of the article was immediate. A decision to exclude eggs from the diet meant for malnourished kids was taken by a five-member state Cabinet subcommittee on the same day. Both the women and child development minister Mrs Ranjana Baghel and the Tribal welfare minister Mr Vijay Shah, who strongly advocated the inclusion of eggs as necessary to combat malnutrition, were overruled. Strong opposition to the proposal to provide children eggs in their diet came from education minister Mrs Archana Chitnis, panchayat and social welfare minister Mr Gopal Bhargava and water resources and environment minister Mr Jayant Malaiya and they carried the day with the chief minister’s support. Mrs Chitnis is RSS schooled, Mr Bhargava is known to be a staunch Brahmin and Mr Malaiya is a Jain. Hailing the decision and Mr Chauhan’s support for it as a “victory”, prominent members of the Jain community have been publicly congratulating the chief minister. Indeed, in the weeks following the decision, top politicians, administrators, and police officers have been seen paying obeisance to the Jain monk at public functions in Bhopal.
Eggs as a part of breakfast for severely malnourished children have been replaced by a mixture of jaggery, horse gram, and peanuts in the state’s “modified” draft. Mr Sachin Jain, state advisor to the Supreme Court-appointed Right-to-Food Commissioners, has spoken out against the imposition of his community’s food preferences on nutrition policy. According to Mr Jain, the government’s proposed alternative to eggs is difficult for malnourished children to digest because of their weak digestive systems. “Boiled eggs are soft, easily digestible, and a richer source of essential nutrients for children,” he told The Statesman.
The trickle-down effect, as it were, of the chief minister’s decision has left administrators stunned. In the district of Indore, for example, since March this year, women and child department officials led by the Collector Mr Raghavendra Singh have been motivating panchayats to provide milk and eggs in anganwadis for severely malnourished children. The results have been significant. Over a five-month period, of the 4,132 children suffering from severe and acute malnutrition (SAM), 3,077 have experienced weight gain, 1,452 improved to the moderate and mild malnutrition (MAM) category, and 310 recovered completely. Mr Singh said the Indore district programme was a decentralised one based on the demand from the ground. If
turn to page 4
Kids’ health goes for peanuts in MP:
(Continued from page 1)
a written order from Bhopal materialises, however, officials say they will be left with no option but to discontinue providing eggs in anganwadis.
This reporter found children in the anganwadis of Choral, Simrol, and Gwalu panchayats of Indore readily consuming eggs and milk ~ and there is widespread acceptance amongst Hindu, Muslim, and tribal communities of the benefits of eggs in combating malnutrition amongst their children. “We never ate eggs at home but considering how weak my daughter was we agreed to let her eat eggs at the anganwadi and her health really improved,” said Choral resident Mrs Lalita Yadav whose two-year-old daughter was severely malnourished but gained two-and-a-half kilograms over the past four months.
According to Dr Veena Shatrugna, former deputy director, National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, the amino acids that make up proteins in milk and eggs most closely mirror those in humans and obtaining an equal amount of protein through pulses and cereals in one meal would mean having to provide many different sources. “I cannot think of a more complete food than eggs for malnourished children,” she said, expressing dismay at the decision of the Madhya Pradesh government.
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