MP witnessed deaths of 28K kids below 6 yrs of age in 2016
More than 28,000 children aged less than six years have died in Madhya Pradesh in 2016, state's Women and Child Welfare Department Minister Archana Chitnis apprised the Assembly. "Technically, It is impossible to answer how many children died because of malnourishment because children died because of various diseases, which could have resulted from malnourishment," she stated.
More than 28,000 children aged less than six years have died in Madhya Pradesh in the past one year due to malnourishment and diseases resulting from it.The state women and child welfare department while accepting that children died because of disease resulting from malnourishment refuses to attribute even a single death to malnourishment.Women and child welfare department minister Archana Chitnis read out an answer to a question raised by Ram Niwas Rawat of the Congress in the ongoing budget session of the Assembly in which she accepted that 28948 children had died in the state in the past one year. And though malnourishment related deaths have been reported from across the state she refused to attribute even a single death to malnourishment."Technically It is impossible to answer how many children died because of malnourishment because children died because of various disease which could have resulted from malnourishment. But I can tell you as far as malnourishment figures are concerned we have improved on all parameters," Archana Chitnis said while talking to India Today.Children have died across the state but we chose to do a reality check in Satna where according to the minister's reply 2167 children below the age of 6 have died due to various reasons. Majhagava block is the worst affected where around 1000 malnourished kids who have been admitted to the rehabilitation centres set up by the government. Many deaths have been reported from the 19 odd tribal dominated villages that fall in this block but the government is not willing to accept malnourishment and severe malnourishment as the cause.Leader of opposition Ajay Singh however attributes corruption as the cause behind the rising deaths of infants in Madhya Pradesh. "Satna is there, also Chitrakoot is there and in Majhgava block there is severe malnourishment. The reason behind this is corruption. Those who are supposed to supply nutritional food are associated with the BJP and till the time this cartel is broken malnourishment cannot be tackled in Madhya Pradesh," he told India Today.If we break down the annual death figure of 28948 into days a shocking statistic stares at your face. 79 children aged below six years die every day in Madhya Pradesh and this shows that the infant mortality rate in Madhya Pradesh is worse than even many African nations. Whatever may be the cause the government has some serious thinking to do.