Child malnutrition may have fallen in recent years but 42 percent of the children under the age of five are underweight, according to the Hunger and Malnutrition survey conducted by Naandi Foundation.

A report with the survey findings says that the growth of nearly 60 percent children is stunted. This has happened despite the economy growing at more than seven percent since the last eight years. The survey collected data from 73,000 households in 112 districts across nine states.

Of the children suffering from stunting, about half are severely stunted; about half of all children are underweight or stunted by the age of 24 months, according to the report. India also has the dubious distinction of highest number of stunted children. 

“The prevalence of child underweight has decreased from 53 per cent to 42 per cent and this represents a 20.3 per cent decrease over a seven year period with an average annual rate of reduction of 2.9 per cent," says the report.

The report points out that the mother’s illiteracy also leads to higher chances of malnutrition in a child. “The prevalence of child underweight among mothers who cannot read is 45 per cent while that among mothers with 10 or more years of education is 27 per cent,” the report added.

The study found that most of the mothers had moved away from breastfeeding their infants. "51 per cent of the mothers did not give colostrum to the newborn soon after birth and 58 per cent mothers fed water to their infants before six months," the report pointed out.

Muslim and SC/ST children are more likely to be underweight, according to the report. Children from low income families also suffer the same fate.

The study was conducted by the Naandi Foundation and released by the prime minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. "The problem of malnutrition is a matter of national shame. Despite impressive growth in our GDP, the level of under-nutrition in the country is unacceptably high,” he said.

However, he also said that the country cannot rely solely on the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) to tackle the problem of malnutrition.

Read the report