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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Food Bill won't eliminate hunger, malnutrition

Food Bill won't eliminate hunger, malnutrition

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published Published on Jun 22, 2013   modified Modified on Jun 22, 2013
-The New Indian Express

 


There are no easy solutions to some of India's chronic problems, which need to be tackled in a holistic, multi-dimensional manner. However, the United Progressive Alliance government does not think so. It has hit upon the idea of enacting a food security law in the mistaken belief that it will address the problems of poverty and hunger. An article in the pre-eminent medical journal, The Lancet, should help the government rethink its plan on food security. It is no secret that despite India's rapid strides in economic development, malnutrition plagues a large section of the population. In fact, half the nation's children under five remain stunted.

What's worse, the problem of stunted growth of children has worsened during the last 10 years. The government's single-point strategy has been to supply nutrient-fortified supplements and meals to children under its ICDS programme. Alas, the strategy does not seem to have yielded the desired dividends. That about 65 per cent of the population has no access to clean drinking water and sanitation poses a greater threat to public health. About 200,000 children under four die annually due to diarrheal diseases, caused by dirty water. In India, water-borne diseases account for a majority of deaths.

If the government is interested in improving public health, it will have to adopt a multi-pronged strategy. For instance, India has more mobile phones than toilets, the absence of which leads to contamination of water sources. If everyone has access to clean toilet, it will go a long way in reducing water-borne diseases. Instead, the government thinks the panacea for all the nation's ills is food security. The Lancet has estimated that it will cost $9.6 billion annually to fund an effective global anti-malnutrition programme. India alone will spend four times that amount annually on executing the food security bill, without any significant nutritional return. But, then, the idea is not to improve public health but secure vote banks.


The New Indian Express, 21 June, 2013, http://newindianexpress.com/editorials/Food-Bill-wont-eliminate-hunger-malnutrition/2013/06/21/article1644718.ece


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