When Nagada and more of its ilk across the State rediscovered Odisha’s image of the 1980s in black and white, the interesting shocker that emerged out is between 2008-09 and 2015-16, a whopping around 2 lakh children in age-group of 0-6 years have dropped out from the Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) in the State.
Despite sanction, the number of Anganwadi Centres (AWC) becoming non-operational in Odisha grew by a whopping 83 per cent in mere 3-yr period (2013-14 to 14-15), when peer States like Tamil Nadu and BIMARU tribal States like Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand increased the operational rate of AWCs by a stupendous around 1,000 per cent to achieve full functioning of all sanctioned AWCs by 2015-16.
Though the number of AWCs sanctioned for the State is nearly 73,000, Odisha currently has around 71,300 such centres operational. Sources further indicated that the State has failed to start around 500 such centres targeted during the last financial year.
Now, consider this. The coverage of SNP child beneficiaries under ICDS in the State was around 40 lakh during 2008-09, and the very coverage dipped to around 38 lakh in 2015-16. It is pertinent here to mention that Odisha has over 50 lakh children in the age-group of 0-6 years as per the 2011 census. Similarly, the number of mothers who benefited from SNP last year dipped to around 7.8 lakh from over 8.1 lakh in 2013-14. This is so when the estimated annual pregnant women in the State stood at over 9.32 lakh.
These figures bring to the fore the gaping holes in ICDS coverage in Odisha meant to eradicate the scourge of malnourishment. Under the SNP, children in the age-group of 6 months to 6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers were given nutritional support for only 300 days a year.
Significantly, the 2016-17 data (up to June) available with the State Health and Family Welfare Development Department reveals of malnutrition being detected in around 20 children in every 100 children weighed at birth. And, the State Women and Child Development department’s data shows around 21 per cent girl child in Odisha being malnourished, which is fifth from the bottom nationally. Though the distribution of malnourished child is quite uneven as ST and SC dominated districts like Gajapati, Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Balangir, Nabrangpur, Jajpur, Baleswar and Bhadrak reporting the maximum load of malnourished children in the State.
Interestingly, the findings of the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB) a few years back that only one-third tribal children in the age-group of 0-6 years could have access to the recommended dietary allowance brings to the fore the acuteness in tribal areas.