This despite the fact that the state Women and Child Development Department runs intensive anti-malnutrition and health schemes for the children mainly in rural areas of the state.
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The Uttarakhand government spends crores of rupees to provide nutrition to the poor children but the number of severely malnourished children in the state has increased by more than 164 percent in the last five years.
This despite the fact that the state Women and Child Development Department runs intensive anti-malnutrition and health schemes for the children mainly in rural areas of the state.
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Till December 2024, the state government spent around 430 crore to provide high nutritional food to the children in the current financial year. But the figures for malnourished children have increased by leaps and bound between 2020 and 2025. Such is the situation that the number of extremely malnourished children has increased by around 164 per cent during this period.
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This was revealed in the economic survey report 2024-25 tabled in the state assembly in the recently concluded budget session.
According to the survey report, the state had 8,856 malnourished children in the year 2020-21 while extremely malnourished children were 1,129. However, the size of extremely malnourished children witnessed a steep hike to 2,983 till December 2024 in the current financial year. Interestingly, malnutrition level among children during this period has come down from 8,856 to 8,374.
It is noteworthy that the Women and Child Development Department never missed an opportunity to make tall claims of intensive programme being run in the state to provide nutritional food to malnourished and severely malnourished children at anganwadi centres. Apart from this, the state Health Department officials regularly visit anganwadi centres under the National Health Mission for health checkup of the children. Free treatment is provided to the children having health issues due to malnutrition in higher medical centres of the state.
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