India tops list of underweight kids…..Himanshi Dhawan
New Delhi: India may rank second in the medals tally,but it is on top among the Commonwealth countries as the home to the highest number of underweight children.About 43% of Indias children are underweight,and 7 million under fives are severely malnourished,says a new report Commonwealth or Common Hunger,released by Save the Children,an NGO.
The report reveals that 64% of the world’s underweight children live in 54 Commonwealth countries,and India has both the highest number and the highest proportion of underweight children.More than twothirds of stunted children (88.5 million or 68.6%) and nearly half of those who are underweight (95 million or 48.7%) live in just seven Commonwealth countries.India is one of seven Commonwealth countries that are not showing adequate progress on MDG 1.India has achieved just 0.9% progress,which is nowhere near achieving the target by 2015.Bangladesh,Pakistan,Maldives,Nigeria,Sri Lanka,Sierra Leone and Kenya are the other nations that are lagging behind in MDGs.
Chairperson of Coalition for Sustainable Nutrition Security in India,M S Swaminathan,said,India has a vast burden of malnutrition among children and mothers,and PM has called it a national shame.We need to see urgent action that will deliver change in the lives of mothers and children in India.But I hope we will see changes that can be shared with other countries across the Commonwealth.
India,China have highest number of TB patients
Geneva: Even after scaling up DOTS programme in the countries the internationally recognized approach to tackle TBIndia along with China have the highest number of patients in the world with the multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB ) disease.According to a WHO report released on Wednesday,annually around 1 million people die from TB with MDR-TB and XDR-TB (extensive drug-resistant-TB ) claiming most of the lives.AGENCIES
Geneva: Even after scaling up DOTS programme in the countries the internationally recognized approach to tackle TBIndia along with China have the highest number of patients in the world with the multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB ) disease.According to a WHO report released on Wednesday,annually around 1 million people die from TB with MDR-TB and XDR-TB (extensive drug-resistant-TB ) claiming most of the lives.AGENCIES
COMMONWEALTHS SHAME
India: 43
Bangladesh: 41
Pakistan: 31
Maldives: 26
Nigeria: 23
Sri Lanka: 22
Siera Leone & Kenya: 21
Bangladesh: 41
Pakistan: 31
Maldives: 26
Nigeria: 23
Sri Lanka: 22
Siera Leone & Kenya: 21
* All figures in % Commonwealth countries with highest prevalence rates of underweight children