Inflation stunts fight against malnutrition

Kimberly Mega/ Food Scarcity/ Wed April 16th 2:43 pm

Food prices have increased seven cents for each item in India. Even India’s staple food, rice, has skyrocketed in price leaving many people on the edge of malnutrition. This inflation of food prices isn’t new for the people of India. The price of milk, wheat, rice and oil have been increasing since last year. Mothers have been forced to dilute the milk they give their children to cut costs, but this cuts nutrients as well. Some communities in India have a higher malnutrition rate than the national average of 21 percent. In New Delhi, malnutrition rates are at seventy percent for children under six years old and eighty percent for their mothers. This rise in malnutrition could be due to a decreased consumption in foodgrain absorption. People could be eating a more diverse diet but it wouldn’t explain why India still has the lowest per capita caloric intake in the world. Malnutrition is also linked to anemia and the levels of this are increasing, especially for women and children. India has the highest rate of undernourished children in the world, and it looks like it might even get worse. This is probably due to the fact it has the second largest population in the world. Therefore, it’s resources are stretched to begin with and then depleted in the blink of an eye. With rising food prices there is no way the low income families can keep up, especially when the children aren’t nourished enough to help out.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=dc8d0cd4-749f-484f-b903-862d74b28145