Gujarat battles severe malnutrition as 2.57 lakh children suffer

Gujarat battles severe malnutrition as 2.57 lakh children suffer

A black and white photo of a group of people standing around a pile of potatoes in a grassy area, with trees and a house in the background, and text at the bottom reading "Harvesting at Indian Reservation, Oldtown, NY".

Gujarat battles severe malnutrition as 2.57 lakh children suffer

Over 2.57 lakh children in Gujarat are currently suffering from malnutrition, according to the latest figures. The data reveals wide disparities across the state's 30 districts, with some areas reporting alarmingly high numbers of underweight and severely malnourished children.

Panchmahal recorded the highest number of malnourished children at 20,762. Banaskantha followed closely with 19,391 cases, while Kheda reported 18,590 malnourished children—the district also saw the largest increase, with 689 additional cases since the last survey. Chhota Udepur stood out for having the most severely underweight children, totaling 4,048.

Other badly affected districts included Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Kutch, and Bharuch, all with significant malnourishment figures. Even urban areas like Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Anand, and Mehsana reported high numbers. Meanwhile, Porbandar had the lowest count, with 666 malnourished children. In response, the Gujarat government has taken steps to tackle the issue. The Poshan Tracker, a monitoring system, was expanded to high-burden districts such as Dang, Narmada, and Dahod. The 2024 "Sampoorna Poshan" campaign now provides fortified midday meals and micronutrient supplements to over 2 million children. Since early 2025, mobile nutrition vans have been deployed in tribal regions, screening and supporting more than 500,000 children as of March 2026.

The latest data highlights persistent malnutrition challenges across Gujarat, with some districts facing far worse conditions than others. Government initiatives like the Poshan Tracker, fortified meals, and mobile health vans aim to address the crisis, but the scale of the problem remains substantial.

Neueste Nachrichten