Did you know, 23 percent kids in Mumbai are malnourished?

Less than half the children surveyed were breast-fed for the recommended six months, leading to early onset of malnutrition. Representation Pics/AFP

Is Maximum City doing the bare minimum for its children? A three-year research study conducted by the state government and Tata Trust has revealed that nearly a quarter of children under the age of two are malnourished in the city. Contrary to public perception, children in smaller towns seem to be better fed and possess stronger immunity than Mumbai kids.

As many as 23% of infants and toddlers in Mumbai were found to be malnourished in the study. This is higher than the statewide figure of 20 percent, as per the study. Experts explained that it is a myth that malnutrition mainly occurs among tribal or rural children.

"There are many factors in urban areas because of which malnutrition is high. Contaminated water, lack of space and open defecation in these high-risk areas also affect health," said Dr Girish Ambe, head of the Committed Communities Development Trust, which was part of the mission.

The statewide survey studied a sample size of 32,258 children over 1,000 days across Mumbai, Nashik, Nagpur and Malegaon. In Mumbai, experts surveyed 6,316 children in Khar and Santacruz - high-risk areas that are highly urbanised with a large population of underprivileged citizens. While nearly a fourth of these kids were found to have some form of malnutrition, as many as 170 were severely malnourished.

Early onset
According to experts, the problem starts early. Due to the high cost of living, new mothers often feel the pressure to return to work early. When the survey began, only 37.43% infants were breastfed for the full six months recommended by doctors, but with the intervention of the project, this rose to 49.79%.

"According to experts, city mothers are often forced to leave their newborns at home while pursue their work. However, in rural areas, the mothers normally are homemakers, so they get the time to take care of their infants," said Dr Ambe.

Shamefully, despite better facilities, the city was the worst in terms of complete immunisation as well. Only 53.38% kids received the DPT vaccine (fights diphtheria, pertussis or whooping cough, and tetanus) at the beginning of the project. The figure rose to 68.59% by the end of the survey, but is still much lower than 100% immunisation in Nashik.

On a positive note, the children do seem to be improving in health upon the intervention of localanganwadis, where mothers and infants receive health support.

Also read: Government lacks sensitivity: Bombay HC on malnutrition deaths