Malnutrition in Melghat       

      SLV Education Society is a registered NGO under the act 1860 of Societies registration. The organization works mainly  to save the childrens of Melghat Tribals (Located at Chikhaldara, Amravati Distt of Maharashtra) from malnutrition. All the funds received from Donations, Newsletter Subscription,Consultancy Services, Contributions, and Mineral Supplements from our donors are utilized to save these children. However, our organization receives grant-in-aid from the Government but for other purpose which we can not divert for this purpose. There is no specific scheme of the Government of grant-in-aid to save these poor children from malnutrition. Therefore, we offer consultancy and other services to the others to raise funds for this noble cause. The situation in Melghat is worse and clear from following paragraphs.

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      Her name is also Kalavati. It is very unlikely though she will have any famous visitor in her humble hut at Mansudhavadi village of Dharni taluk in Amravati district. In March this year, when Kalavati Javarkar gave birth to her second child, a daughter, her one-year-old son Shubham was in grade three of malnutrition, rather severe. He weighed 6.6 kg instead of the ideal 10 kg.

       Malnutrition is a byword in the forested hills of the Melghat region inhabited mostly by Korku Adivasis. Every year 400-500 children between the ages of 0 and 6 die in the region, comprising Chikhaldhara and Dharni taluks, according to official figures .

      While the government says not all deaths are due to malnutrition, the situation is grim, to say the least. Official figures for malnourished children for March 2005 from the district health office say that of the 35, 431 children examined at primary health centres (PHCs), only 11, 343 were of normal weight. The rest were in various grades of malnutrition. In 2006, of the 37,215 children examined, only 13,168 were of normal weight. In the next three years too, it was a repeat with more than half the number of children examined in various malnourished categories, some in grades three and four, which is very severe.

       In a study, we pointed out that this area is known for the highest under-five mortality rate, especially malnutrition-related deaths in Maharashtra. The common causes of mortality and morbidity among infants and children are neonatal sepsis, birth asphyxia, low birth weight, diarrhoeal diseases, respiratory tract infections, protein energy malnutrition and malaria.

       Since 1993, when malnutrition deaths created an uproar, the government has spent a huge amount of funds.

       At Jampani, a remote village 54 km from Dharni and lacking in even basic health needs, there are five malnourished children. Laxmi’s son Nitesh, all of two, was admitted to hospital for malnutrition. Her daughter looks after him when she goes to work. Her eldest daughter too almost died due to malnutrition. The nearest PHC is about 10 km away from this village of about 500 people.

      Our ongoing study from 2004 points to under-utilization of funds in both the Tribal sub-plan and the overall health outlay for Amravati district, in which Melghat falls. Understaffing, and lack of PHCs and the consequent need for people to travel over 70 km in some cases, have also been documented. The average distance of a village from a private practitioner, a medical shop and a district hospital is 19 km, 28 km and 160 km in Dharni taluk.

      The situation could be far worse than what is projected on paper. The Rajmata Jijau Mother-Child Health and Nutrition Mission, set up by the State government in 2005, has initiated several measures. The Bombay High Court too formed a committee to oversee the situation. However, activists working in the area point out that little is happening on the ground. Important posts lie vacant in hospitals and gynecologists and child specialists are hard to come by.

       The government has also accepted that there is under-reporting in the figures for malnutrition.

       Data from the Child Development Centres set up by the Mission in 22 districts indicates that between 36 and 50 per cent of the children in grades 3 and 4 of malnutrition admitted there have moved to a higher grade, which is less severe.

      However, Melghat is primarily a forest area and despite the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, the Adivasis have not yet been given their due. They still depend on rain-fed agriculture and migrate for work during the rest of the year. This is a major factor contributing to malnutrition. Some of the anganwadis are in a shambles, with workers siphoning off the raw material or just failing to turn up. Food insecurity and lack of linkage to the ICDS are major shortcomings.

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