Jhabbu purva village, Naraini block, Banda district. According to the anganwadi worker here, as of September 2014, there were no malnourished children on record. A survey commissioned by the health department in the district has revealed that there are in fact 8 children in the village, and 258 children in the block which are malnourished.In November, whilst doing special investigation on infant and child mortality in Uttar Pradesh, KL reporters sourced government records of malnourishment in Naraini block. Soon after on the 14 of November, the DM, Suresh Kumar Pratham ordered a survey on the status of child malnutrition in the district. Just the figures that emerged from Naraini block were shocking. The assistant anganwadi worker, who runs the Jhabbu purva centre, said, “I don’t think there are any malnourished children in this village.” However, Suman, a woman in the same village, has a two-month old baby who weighed 2 kgs at birth according to the Asha worker, and was 1.5kgs at 2 months, when her weight should have been 5 kgs, according to state growth monitoring criteria. According to the recent survey commissioned, 8 children have been found to be malnourished in the village.
The Child Development Programme officer of Naraini block said that the survey had revealed 258 acutely malnourished children in the block. These records have been sent to the block and district hospitals. Sources who did not want to be named said that the data of the entire district’s malnutrition status will be available by the 30 of December.
The District Programme officer Ishrat Jahan said that there is work underway to survey the whole of Banda district. Once this data is collected, action will be taken to reach the maximum possible facilities to malnourished children.
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