WUNRN
India - Multiple Crisis, Survival,
& Human Rights
Issues for Women, Girls, Rural Poor
ActionAid India
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
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
"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
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
----- 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
March 31, 2009
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.
___________________________________________________________________
IFPRI - International Food Policy
Research Institute
2008
India State Hunger Index
Key
Findings & Facts
- India ranks 66 out of 88 countries on the 2008 Global
Hunger Index (GHI).
- Improving child nutrition is of utmost urgency in most
Indian states because of its large contribution to the ISHI (India State
Hunger Index) scores. All states also need to improve strategies to
facilitate inclusive economic growth, ensure food sufficiency, and reduce
child mortality.
________________________________________________________________
Asian Human Rights Commission -
Urgent Appeal
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
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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:
_________________________________________________________________________
----- Original Message -----
From: WUNRN
To: WUNRN ListServe
Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 6:11 PM
Subject: India - Malnutrition - Women & Girls - Gender
Inequality
WUNRN
The Hunger Project
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:
- No longer can she eat last and least, taking whatever
is left over after feeding the husband and sons.
- No longer can a girl-child be kept from the breast so
that her mother may become pregnant sooner — to bear a son.
- No longer can teenage girls facing the stresses of
puberty also expect to face deprivation, pregnancy and abuse.
================================================================
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