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Over the past six years, the Yogi government has made significant efforts to address malnutrition. It is the effect of various government projects and continuous monitoring that improvements in anaemia, dwarfism, underweight and dryness have been recorded in the state.
The Uttar Pradesh government is actively implementing 897 projects across the state, and these projects are being delivered to beneficiaries through 1,89,021 Anganwadi centres under the Child Development Services and Nutrition Department. Presently, more than two crore beneficiaries are benefiting from a range of nutrition-related projects, which aim at eradicating malnutrition from the state and the country. During a high-level meeting, officials of the Child Development Services and Nutrition Department informed Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath that due to the government initiatives, improvement in malnutrition has been recorded in the state. At present 2,08,42,924 people including pregnant women, lactating mothers, children of 6 months to 3 years, children of 3 to 6 years, SAM children and adolescent girls of aspirational districts across UP are availing the benefits of various nutrition-related projects. The beneficiaries include as many as 19,83,943 pregnant women, 9,21,081 lactating mothers, 95,67,341 children aged 6 months to 3 years, 79,37,870 children aged 3 to 6 years, and 1,86,044 SAM children, along with up to 2,46,645 adolescent girls from aspirational districts. In response to this information, CM Yogi directed officials to formulate an action plan and launch a comprehensive campaign aimed at eradicating malnutrition 100 per cent from the state. He emphasized that a robust mechanism should be established to ensure the success of this campaign, and efforts should be made with utmost urgency, as nutrition forms the foundation of a healthy and capable India. During the meeting, officials of the department, citing the National Health Family Survey (NHFS-5), informed CM Yogi that there had been improvement in anaemia, dwarfism, underweight and dryness in the year 2019-2020 period as compared to the year 2015-2016. In the year 2015-16, 51 per cent of pregnant women in the state suffered from anaemia, whereas in the year 2019-21, it has improved by 5.1 per cent, bringing the figure down to 45.9 per cent. Similarly, in the year 2015-16, 46.3 per cent of the children were suffering from dwarfism, whereas in the year 2019-21, it improved by 6.6 per cent, bringing the figure down to 39.7 per cent. Additionally, the percentage of children suffering from underweight decreased from 39.5 percent in 2015-16 to 32.1 percent in 2019-21, reflecting a 7.4 percent improvement. Likewise, in the year 2015-16, 17.9 per cent of the children were suffering from dryness, whereas in the year 2019-21, it improved by 0.6 per cent, bringing the figure down to 17.3 per cent. Furthermore, there has also been a significant decline in maternal and child mortality rates in Uttar Pradesh in the last six years. The reason for this is that mothers and infants are getting nutritious food through various government projects in the state. (ANI)
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