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Editorial Posted On Wednesday, March 10, 2010 | If face is an index of one's mind; a nation's index can be gauged by the characterization of its people. What is crucial is whether the people are healthy, mentally sound and strong; if the working class (the proletariat) is well-nourished and if the denizens live bumper-to-bumper and the system of governance is helpful in rejuvenating the health of the nation.
But if according to UNICEF, 230 million people in India are undernourished--- the highest for any country--- if malnutrition accounts for nearly 50 per cent of child death in India, if 78,000 women die every year because of 'avoidable complications' during child birth, as a result of malnutrition, more than 70 per cent of children (under-5) suffer from anaemia, and 80 per cent of them do not get vitamin support, can India be construed as a healthy nation?
If 65 per cent of the one billion people keep abysmally weak health because of malnutrition, it can be inferred that future of such a country is vulnerable. Every person is not expected to be as brave as Bhima (of the Mahabharata fame) or Rustum pahalwan, but if around 84 lakh children (under 5) in India's prosperous state of Maharashtra are found to be suffering from malnutrition of varying degrees, if an estimated 45,000 of them die each year because of this hydra-headed problem, just imagine what lies ahead for aam admi, who becomes the centre of gravity at election time.
Despite this high prevalence of malnutrition, Government of Maharashtra spends just 0.08 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and the Mid-Day Meal programme. These and other related aspects about the nation's declining nutritional status have been revealed in a report on: "Nutritional Crisis in Maharashtra". The report has been prepared by Pune-based NGO---Support for Advocacy and Training to Health Initiatives (SATHI).
It is shocking that Maharashtra's 'economic prosperity' does not translate into adequate nutrition for over half its population. The ICDS scheme is running into a rough weather. Insufficient funds and poor infrastructure at anganwadi centres has directly affected children, 44 per cent of who suffer from malnutrition. Over 72 million children and 15 million pregnant and lactating mothers are given nutritional supplement each day in nearly one million anganwadis. The allocation for ICDS in 2009-2010 was Rs 6705 crore, against the demand of Rs 75,055 crore.
"A large number of people in Maharashtra do not get enough to eat and are suffering from serious nutritional deficiencies", according to Abhay Shukla, coordinator of SATHI. A similar situation is discernible in other less developed states like Bihar, U P, Orissa and Chhattisgarh. Several hundred poor people die of hunger even though there is plenty of food available in the country. It is a sad reflection on the matter of governance.
Maharashtra's 2008 Indian State Hunger Index (ISHI) score was 22.8, which places it 10th in India, in the category of "Alarming Hunger". It is almost at par with Orissa (23.8). At the international level, Maharashtra is just touching Rwanda (22.3) and Cambodia (23.2). Both the countries have a much lower per capita GDP.
Contrary to belief, there are several million undernourished people in Maharashtra's urban centres, says Shukla. The state government's short-sighted and short-term nutritional scheme and mid-day meal programme are hardly sufficient to tackle the problem. These schemes are punctuated with rampant corruption of the highest order, not only in Maharashtra but in Madhya Pradesh and elsewhere too.
A Pune-based farmer, Suryakant Bagade has provided an answer to India's centuries-old malnutrition problem. He has been successfully growing two protein-rich exotic green and leafy vegetables, 'sag' (hak) and 'suchal', for the over past two years. These are rich in minerals. Analysts at the Central Research Station (CRS), forming part of the BAIF Development Research Foundation, at Urlikanchan, near Pune, maintain that 'suchal' contains 21 per cent of protein and 'sag' has 18.42 per cent protein. Both the vegetables, originating from Kashmir, are a must for growing children and pregnant and lactating mothers.
The vegetables are being supplied in Pune and Mumbai presently. But the government needs to encourage the cultivation of these vegetables by other farmers for mass consumption. Awareness programmes have to be initiated through electronic and print media. People have to be informed about the benefit of these vegetables.
CRS researchers have advised people to consume these two vegetables regularly for wear and tear of the body. These are "very useful to growing children and pregnant women. ......these have very good nutritional characters..." The vegetables can be cultivated almost round the year in Pune, because of good climatic conditions. They are comparatively quite cheap and easy to grow at one's doorsteps, in kitchen gardens and farms. The plant can remain erect for a year. Only leaves are to be cut. Some agriculture scientists have evinced interest at their personal level, but the government's response is lacking. The state's Agriculture Universities and colleges could take up its farming for mass awareness and pass on the technique later for its large-scale cultivation. The state's Agriculture Department is sluggish in this regard.
President Pratibha Patil in her address to the nation on the eve of the 61st Republic Day has called for 'bringing positive changes' in the system of governance and has underlined the need for second green revolution, which should remain focused on agricultural productivity. The next decade she has said would be a 'decisive decade', the decade of 'reckoning' for India. She has laid added stress on good health facilities to all citizens. But will the policy makers listen? Is health for all a distant dream? There has to be more intake of green vegetables. People have become crazy about fast foods and have to be weaned away from such practices.
India's second 'Green Revolution' in the offing will be meaningless, unless there is mass cultivation of protein-rich 'sag' and 'suchal'. It is 'green gold'. It has a huge export potential also. It can be an 'ever green revolution' of sorts. If sustained efforts are made to cultivate these vegetables, it can create a congenial environment.
The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and former U S Vice-President Al Gore have suggested the world community to go green. "We urge all governments to expand green stimulus elements, including energy efficiency....investing in the green economy is not an optional expense. It is a smart investment for a more equitable prosperous future", they have said in an article. It would be prudent if the cultivation of these protein-rich vegetables is encouraged by the centre on war-footing in states like Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar and Chhattisgarh, where malnutrition problem is acute. It is essential to stave off malnutrition for good health of the nation. The government's priority need not be winery, but cultivation of healthy vegetables to serve larger interest of the nation.
JN Raina, Syndicate Features
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Sunday, August 01, 2010