-TheIndiaForum.in Stagnant government funding and mis-allocation of available resources in recent years are together resulting in limited improvements in levels of child nutrition, anaemia and mortality. Last December the results of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) from 2015-16 hit the headlines. And the news was not good. In a world where children mattered, the logical outcome would have been for the government to course correct in the budget to be presented...

-Down to Earth Gaps in data on women and girls particularly severe; countries do not invest enough in public intent data systems, the report said Most countries have shied away from an open-data policy — more so countries with developing economies, according to a recent World Bank report. Only 11 per cent low-income countries consistently made available with a license classifiable as ’open’, the report flagged. The comparable rate for lower-middle-income countries was...

-The Hindu Several trade unions, feminists and research groups and policy advocates have come together on International Women’s Day to campaign for the rights of anganwadi workers, helpers and ASHAs with Members of Parliament and to highlight their plight during the pandemic. The Frontline Workers’ Solidarity Campaign will be addressing several MPs as Parliament reconvenes for the second part of the Budget Session on Monday. The drive is being spearheaded by Feminist...

School meals ensure nutrition for millions of vulnerable children across the world. Almost 370 million children worldwide are covered by school feeding programmes. While 100 million school children benefitted from the noon meal scheme in India prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries like Brazil (48 million), China (44 million), South Africa (9 million) and Nigeria (9 million) too run similar programmes for school children. However, an estimated 39 billion in-school...

Large dams that cause environmental degradation and large-scale displacement, among other things, have been opposed in India by civil society organisations (CSOs), such as Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM) and People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). A recently published study by the United Nations University's Canada-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health along with other partner organisations reveals that tens of thousands of existing large...