Less Than 10 Lakh Children With Severe Acute Malnutrition Identified, Govt Tells Rajya Sabha

Less than 10 lakh children in the country have been identified with Severe Acute Malnutrition, the Women and Child Development Ministry told Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

In a written reply in the Upper House, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said identification and management of severe acute malnutrition is an ongoing process.

"Identification and management of Severe Acute Malnutrition is an ongoing process. As per data made available by States/UTs, the number of SAM children is less than 10 lakh now," she said.

Irani said measures have been taken to strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach and outcomes with a focus on developing practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity from diseases and malnutrition.

"Steps have also been taken to improve nutritional quality and testing, strengthen delivery and leverage technology to improve governance. Government has advised States/UTs to ensure that the quality of supplementary nutrition conforms to prescribed standards laid down under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and regulations made thereunder," she said.

The minister further said that states and Union Territories have also been advised to promote the use of AYUSH systems for the prevention of malnutrition and related diseases.

A programme to support the development of Poshan Vatikas at Anganwadi centres to meet dietary diversity gaps leveraging traditional knowledge in nutritional practices has also been taken up, Irani added.