Gujarat among worst performers in child nutrition: NITI Aayog
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New Delhi: Gujarat has emerged as one of the worst-performing states in improving child nutrition and combating hunger, according to data on the status of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) released by NITI Aayog.
In the 2023-24 SDG report published earlier this month, Gujarat ranks 25th on the hunger index in state-wise rankings. Despite being economically prosperous, the data reveals that nearly 40% of children under five years of age in Gujarat are underweight.
Among the 17 SDGs set by the United Nations in 2015, SDG 2 aims to achieve zero hunger. Bihar ranks the lowest at 24, preceded by Jharkhand (28), Chhattisgarh (40), Gujarat (41), Maharashtra (45), Odisha (45), Assam (47), and Madhya Pradesh (48). These seven states fall into the ‘aspirant’ category.
States are categorized based on their scores ranging between 0-100. Those scoring between 0-49 are classified as aspirants, 50-64 are grouped as ‘performers’, and ‘front runners’ have scores between 65-99. ‘Achievers’ score 100.
Gujarat’s performance on the SDG 2 index has consistently declined from 49 in 2018, to 41 in 2019, and 46 in 2021. NITI Aayog’s data also revealed that 62.5% of pregnant women in the state aged 15-49 are anaemic, while 25.2% of women in the same age group have a body mass index below 18.5.
The number of underweight and stunted children, and anaemic women has increased compared to 2018 and 2019, according to the New Indian Express.
“With Gujarat’s SDG-2 index dropping from 46 in 2020-21 to 41 in 2023-24, and with 39.7% of children under five being underweight and 62.5% of pregnant women anaemic, achieving zero hunger by 2030 necessitates urgent and substantial investment in nutrition-focused initiatives,” said Atman Shah, assistant professor in the department of Economics at St Xavier’s College (autonomous) in Ahmedabad.
According to the 2023 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report, nearly half the rural population in Gujarat is deprived of nutrition (44.45%) and 28.97% in urban areas.