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India - Multiple Crisis, Survival, & Human Rights

Issues for Women, Girls, Rural Poor

 

ActionAid India

http://www.actionaid.org/india/index.aspx?PageID=4829

 

Drought relief not reaching the rural poor

India - Drought Relief Not Reaching the Rural Poor

The woes of the rural poor go much beyond an insufficient rainfall. Corrupt ration officials, weak NREGA, and erratic midday meals and anganwadis are leading to rampant starvation.

 

These are critical times for agriculture and farmers in India. According to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, 47 percent of India is reeling under a drought thanks to an insufficient monsoon rainfall.

 

The people being hurt most are marginal farmers. Children of these cultivators who usually double up as farm hands when they are not working on their own tiny fields are facing acute hunger. Farm work has shrunk, and so has their food.

 

In Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh state, women get to eat only one meal a day – with one or two chapattis and a little salt. "Nearly 65% of families are malnourished in over 500 villages of Mahoba," says Manoj of Kirti Shodh Samsthan, an ActionAid partner organisation.

 

In Banda district, 48% of children aged three or less are underfed. In Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh, 600 children are severely malnourished as per government records.

 

"But we have identified 40 emaciated children in Kandva village who have not found mention in the registers of non-functional anganwadis. Ten of them are severely malnourished. Also, in Chhattarpur district, the nutritional rehabilitation centre that provides food and medicines to severely malnourished children has only five beds!" reveals Pradeep of Parhit, an ActionAid partner organisation working with the drought-hit families of Bundelkhand region in Madhya Pradesh.

 

Officially, anganwadis where little kids and pregnant women get nutritious food are supposed to give food to the elderly also during droughts.

 

Stealing from the poor
For two months now, children in almost all 3500 villages of Palamau district of neighbouring Jharkhand state have not got midday meals at their schools.

News reports state that five people died of malnourishment in Nalanda and Jehanabad districts of Bihar. In Palamau, starvation claimed five lives.

 

"Government officials refuse to admit that people are dying of hunger and neglect," says Manoj Kumar Singh of Vikas Sahyog Kendra, an ActionAid partner organisation that works with poor communities in Palamau.

 

For drought relief, the state governments allot a few quintals of rice to village councils for distribution amongst the desperately poor and hungry.

 

"In Chhattarpur, even the old villagers who were left behind by their migrant families have yet to see the grains from emergency relief," says Jayant Lakra of ActionAid.

 

In Palamau, grains meant for emergency aid are being consigned to government ration shops that are already notorious for corruption. Ration cards that enable poor communities to buy subsidised grains from the government's public distribution system are supposed to provide a safety net but the net is full of holes. Grains are frequently siphoned off to be sold at market prices.

 

"Villagers got so desperate that they started looting rice from trucks on way to ration shops. Truckloads of grains are now accompanied by police convoys," adds Manoj Kumar Singh.

 

The government's National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) promises villagers a minimum of 100 days of work. Corruption is present here also.

 

"Those who seek jobs are often not allowed to submit written applications. Hence little evidence remains of how many rural folk sought jobs and how many got," says Narendra Sharma of ActionAid who works with marginalised communities of Madhya Pradesh.

 

"At a public hearing we held last week where people from 26 villages of Palamau attended, we got to know that only Rs 1.1 million was spent on NREGA while the sanctioned budget is Rs 15 million," says Manoj Kumar Singh.

Those who do manage to get work under NREGA are either not paid minimum wages, or paid months later. "Government does not pay attention to us, and corruption is rife in all schemes," says Vidya Devi, a 35-year-old woman from Mahoba district.

 

No longer home
The forage and water supplies have also diminished in thousands of villages.

 

Water tankers doing the rounds of drought-hit districts are not reaching the needy. Water in tankers is not enough for all thirsty families, according to village council leaders. As a result, villagers often drink from contaminated canals.

 

"You can see long queues before hand pumps. The workload of women and girl children have increased," reveals Sanjay Singh of Parmarth, an ActionAid partner organisation in Uttar Pradesh.

 

No wonder then 60 to 80 percent rural families across several drought-hit states have left for cities, state local activists.

Law and order
Cases of land grab and highway robbery are on the up in Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh. In Tikamgarh district, more than 1000 ponds have dried up. The fisher folk have migrated to cities for work. In their absence, the land beneath the ponds has been taken over by dominant caste landlords.

Not only has the sowing of seeds been substantially lower but the low rainfall is expected to damage standing crops also. For instance, rice output may fall by 10 million tonnes.

Agricultural experts say that only 30 percent of farm land has access to irrigation and more than 700 million citizens depend on agriculture. Therefore, farming in India heavily relies on the annual monsoon which comes from June to September. This year the rains are 26 percent below normal. In some districts including Chattarpur and Tikamgarh, the season has been punishingly dry – recording 57% and 51% less rainfall respectively. In Palamau, rains fell 96% less than normal.

 

ActionAid and partner organisations are using the Right to Information Act to seek answers from government officials on subsidised ration and NREGA work. Public hearings and rallies are being organised where rural women and men are able to voice their grievances. 

 

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----- Original Message -----

From: WUNRN ListServe

To: WUNRN ListServe

Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 12:21 PM

Subject: India - Infant Girls & Young Children Dying from Malnutrition

 

WUNRN

http://www.wunrn.com

 

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/global-crisis-hurting-children-another-10mn-hungry/89144-3.html

March 31, 2009

 

 

HELP NEEDED: A malnourished three-month-old girl is fed at a rehabilitation center in Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh.

India - A malnourished three-month-old girl is fed at a rehabilitation center in Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh.

 

According to the Save the Children's statistics, around 3.5 million children die in a year because of malnutrition. In India alone, one million children's lives could be saved every year if they were not malnourished.

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IFPRI - International Food Policy Research Institute

http://www.ifpri.org/media/20081014ghi/ishi08fs.asp

 

2008 India State Hunger Index

Key Findings & Facts

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Asian Human Rights Commission - Urgent Appeal

http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2009/3209/

 

INDIA - INFANT & YOUNG GIRLS DYING FROM MALNUTRITION

RIGHT TO FOOD - POVERTY - FOOD & HEALTH SECURITY

 

INDIA: Three children died of malnutrition for past two months and four children are currently suffering from malnutrition in Dabhiya village of Madhya Pradesh where children had died of malnutrition in 2008

ISSUES: Right to food; right to health; malnutrition; government neglect
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Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a human rights group based in Madhya Pradesh Spandan, Samaj Seva Samiti (Spandan) regarding three children who died of malnutrition. The deceased children lived in Dabhiya village of Khandwa district, where two children had died of malnutrition in 2008. At present, four children living in the same village suffer from severe malnutrition. Sixty two children died of malnutrition associated with various related diseases in the Khandwa district alone. As a result, the state and the district administrative government announced that they would ensure food security and eradicate children's deaths from malnutrition. However, further deaths this year proved that the government has again failed.

CASE DETAIL:

Richu Baliram, a two and a half year old girl died of malnutrition on May 10, 2009. She lived in Dabhiya village, Khalwa Block, Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh. She was admitted for treatment at the Khandwa district Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre (NRC).

Richu was admitted to the Khandwa district NRC on May 2, 2009, suffering from grade IV Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), associated with diarrhoea. It was not the first time that she had been taken to the NRC. In September 2008, she was treated for 14 days and discharged. Her condition deteriorated as her family could not afford to provide proper food for her continued recovery. All in all, Richu was admitted four times, once for six days and once for five days. She continued to suffer from malnutrition for almost a year without a full recovery.

Richu's death demonstrates that the NRC returns malnourished children from remote rural areas to the same environment that caused their malnutrition in the first place. Her death also shows that the Anganwadi centre (AC; Child Care Centre) for Dabhiya village failed in its duty of care to continue to provide nutritious food for those children sent back home from the NRC. The AC provides only dried ration as supplementary nutrition for the children in the village. They erroneously presume that all families can afford to give proper food to their malnourished children at home. This practice is widespread in the village with children suffering from malnutrition.

In the same village two more malnourished children died. A two month-old girl Payal Brijlal died on June 19, and 18 month-old Shanta Ramesh died on June 30. The latter suffered from malnutrition associated with measles and respiratory infection.

The inadequate practices of the NRC are seen in the following cases. Ramnarayan Rameshm, was returned home after a 12 day admission period. Ramnarayan, one and a half years old, suffering from grade IV malnutrition associated with respiratory difficulties, was taken to the NRC on September 12, 2008 and discharged on September 24, 2008. He was still suffering from grade III malnutrition. Ramnarayan's parents took him to a private hospital for treatment where his condition did not improve. In early June, as a last resort, he was taken to a person healing through religious methods. A few days ago, Ramnarayan was again admitted to the NRC where he is currently being treated.

At the present time in the village, three more children suffer from malnutrition. Biliya Shivram a two year old girl, Richai Baliram two years old, and Bamcham Radhelal one and a half years old. They suffer from grade III or IV malnutrition. All are severely malnourished.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

No substantial improvement in preventing children’s deaths from malnutrition

In a breakthrough in 2008, the state government acknowledged children's deaths from malnutrition. Both the state and the district administrative government had paid more attention to taking care of malnourished children in 2009, particularly during the rainy season from June to September.

In 2008, thousands of malnourished children were taken to the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRC) in different districts. According to the announcement this year of the department of Woman and Child Development, parents who have malnourished children are encouraged to take them to the NRC for treatment. But there has been no substantial change in the treatment protocol for malnourished children at the NRC.

Malnourished children are generally admitted for a maximum of fourteen days at the NRC. The treatment consists merely in providing nutrition. It does not render any medical care for diseases or multiple infections associated with malnutrition. During the rainy season, the malnourished children are more vulnerable to related illnesses and infections due to an unhygienic environment. This takes the form of an absence of a proper sanitation system and a clean water supply. The compounded four factors; rainy season, unhygienic environment, diseases and malnutrition, continuously escalate children's deaths in rural areas.

Policy of the NRC is that it looks after SAM but only grades III and IV malnutrition. All other malnourished children in grade I or II are left behind without proper treatment and as a result develop SAM sooner. To prevent further deaths, it is necessary to look after all malnourished children no matter what stage they are in. Should there not be sufficient space to accommodate all children at the NRC, the government should make arrangements with the AC. The AC can provide appropriate nutrition such as Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) or F 100, a preparation of full-fat milk, vegetable oil, peanut butter (only for RUTF) and mineral-vitamin mix, usually recommended for malnourished children.

There are two ACs in Dabhiya village. Each has one worker and one helper. There is a NRC at Khandwa district for malnourished children. There is a Supreme Court Order to ensure food and health security. However, the existence of these systems in itself does not mean that the Government of India, as a state party of International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), fulfils its obligations. In fact, the state, district and local facilities fail in their basic functions resulting in poor results and deaths.

No food security at home

If there was enough nutritious food at home, the government would not need to earmark such a substantial budget for malnourished children. All the families of the deceased children, all members of the Korku tribal community, suffer from lack of food at home.

Richu's family has a two acre farm land which is not properly irrigated. The family of four harvest soy beans which are sold at 10 Rupees per kilograms. Her father used to work as a day labourer for 50 rupees a day. Payal's family has no land for farming. The family only gets 20 kilograms of rice and wheat from the ration shop with their Below the Poverty Line ration card (BPL card). 20 kilograms of rice and wheat is consumed by eight family members within a week. Her father also migrates to neighbouring districts like Harda or Hoshangabad twice a year in order to find additional jobs. Shanta's family of four has a one acre farm land. They recently took out a loan of 5,000 rupees to buy food for the home. Her father also migrates for work from time to time.

The villagers from the Korku community, living in a remote rural area, need enough farm land to make a living thus ensuring food security. Without farm land, they cannot afford to provide enough food for their families. And although some have farm land, they do not have irrigation facilities to maximize production. As a result, they are forced every year to migrate to find work.

The ration distribution under the Public Food Distribution System (PDS) does not reach the tribal communities in rural areas. Despite the fact that the Korku community in the village continue to face a lack of food and child malnutrition, they do not have the priority to obtain a ration card AAY card for the poorest among the poor (For details on living condition of Korku community, please refer to
previous hunger alert and statement). As shown in the case of Payal's family, BPL card holders pay about five rupees for one kilogram of wheat and seven rupees for one kilogram of rice. In Madhya Pradesh, BPL card holders are supposed to collect 20 kilograms per month which only lasts for a week or so. In practice, it can be seen that for the last two years, the actual number of BPL families are far more than the quota that the central government has assigned. The state government cut down the amount of earmarked grains, which is supposed to be 35 kilograms of rice (15 kilograms) and wheat (20 kilograms), in order to meet the needs of all the card holders.

The current market price of wheat in Khandwa district is about 12 rupees per kilogram and 20 rupees per kilogram for rice. All these families who have already lost children or may lose children soon cannot afford to buy grain in the market. They even find it difficult to buy broken rice or wheat which costs half the price of normal grain. The price for broken grain is also rising as the demand goes up.

 

Website Link Includes AHRC Suggested Actions:

http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2009/3209/


_________________________________________________________________________

 

----- Original Message -----

From: WUNRN

To: WUNRN ListServe

Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 6:11 PM

Subject: India - Malnutrition - Women & Girls - Gender Inequality

 

WUNRN

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The Hunger Project

http://www.thp.org/sai00/india/malnutrition.htm

 

WOMEN & GIRLS OF INDIA

 

INDIA - THE CYCLE OF MALNUTRITION - GENDER

The exceptionally high rates of malnutrition in South Asia are rooted deep in the soil of inequality between men and women. — UNICEF, "The Asian Enigma", The Progress of Nations, 

The vicious cycle of malnutrition among the women of rural India perpetuates the equally vicious cycle of persistent hunger and poverty for all rural Indians.

India has the second worst rate of child malnutrition in the world, just behind Bangladesh. Low birth weight and child malnutrition are the primary determinants of ill-health and diminished capacity throughout life.

When children are born malnourished and underweight, they are at severe risk in all areas of personal development, health and mental capacity. They are physically weak and lack resistance to disease. They face a lifetime of disabilities, a lowered capacity for learning and diminished productivity.

The cost to India of this deficiency, solely in economic terms, has been estimated to be as much as US$28 billion per year in reduced GDP. This is greater than India’s total annual public expenditures on nutrition and health combined.

This reality is a clear and direct result of the subjugation, marginalization and disempowerment of women throughout their lives.

We should not need to focus exclusively on women as mothers in order to be committed to transforming their status. Yet, in their role as mothers, they do represent the most critical link in the chain of human well-being and development.

It is widely recognised that the health and nutritional status of a pregnant woman dramatically affects the health of her baby. A more accurate scientific understanding, however, reveals that this is only part of the story. The truth is that a woman’s health, from the time she is in her own mother’s womb, is the single most important factor in determining the health of her child.

With this knowledge, it is clear that traditional responses to child malnutrition, such as simply providing nutritional supplements to pregnant women, are both inadequate and ultimately futile. If India is to interrupt the cycle of persistent hunger, the lifetime health and nutritional status of women must improve dramatically.

This, in turn, means transforming the way women are treated in the family and society as a whole:

 





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