A new report released by UNICEF and the World Health Organization today lays out a seven-point plan to reduce the incidence of diarrhoea worldwide. Diarrhoea is the second leading killer of children. Nearly one in five children under the age of five dies as a result of dehydration, weakened immunity or malnutrition associated with diarrhoea. But it is a preventable and easily treatable disease. “It is a tragedy that diarrhoea,...

South Asia will be badly hit by declining crop yields stemming from climate change, a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (Ifpri) has found ahead of a food security summit next month. Another study, released by the Food and Agricultural Organization on Thursday, also said that farm yields will be adversely affected by global warming. The Ifpri report—made public on Wednesday—analysed 32 crops and livestock commodities in 281...

Over 25 million more children will suffer from malnourishment by 2050 due to effects of climate change and India will be one of the worst affected in the Asian region, a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute said on Wednesday. However, the study finds that the scenario of lower yields, higher prices, and increased Child Malnutrition can be averted with $7 billion additional annual investments in rural development...

There has been an animated debate in the past three years over the supply of food in the ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) programme. Supplementary nutrition has been provided to all children under the age of six since the inception of the programme more than three decades ago. This was done with the recognition that the nutrition gap (between what children should be consuming every day and what they actually...

Government nutrition scheme has no place for necessary animal protein The ICDS programme launched in the 1970s was based on the results of extensive surveys which identified rampant child under-nutrition in India. Using the weight-for-age and height-for-age criteria, only 10 per cent children under five could be classified normal. And 15-20 per cent were underweight even when they were short. The situation has not improved in the past 35 years...