 In recent days, we received a piece of bad news, India is about to miss all our nutrition goals set by the Prime Minister Poshan Abhyanin 2018. This scheme was launched by the Prime Minister on International Women's Day with the goal of improving the health of women and children by 2022. And it had a three-year budget of 9,046 crores. The target was to reduce the level of stunting, underweight, low birth weight, and anemia in women and children. However, data from a recent survey, that is the National Family Health Survey 5, gives us a hard reality check. Between 2015 and 2020, malnutrition among women and children has drastically increased in almost all states and universities in India. The survey is conducted every five years and provides insight into the health of families in India, among many other indicators. So far, only phase one of the survey has been completed. So we have data only for 17 states and 5 union territories. In this video, we have excluded union territories because the sample sizes are much smaller. But when the final numbers come out, we will have a separate report covering all 8 union territories. Let's start with stunting. Stunting is when a child does not reach a height that is appropriate for their age. The child may have a decent weight but is too short for their age. In the last five years, stunting has increased for children below five years. The worst cases of stunting seems to be in Meghalaya, where data shows that 47% of children under five years are stunted. This figure was at 44% in the previous survey. In second place is Bihar, where 43% of children are stunted. The only small mercy here is that this level has gone down slightly. Five years ago, it was 48%. The target as per the portion of yarn was to reduce stunting by 2% every year. However, stunting has gone up in 10 states and hasn't changed at all in two states. In Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, the level has not changed at all in five years. Now, let's look at the southern states. 33% of children in Telangana are stunted, while the number is at 31% for Andhra Pradesh. Kela is doing slightly better at 23%, but these numbers are all higher than before and the Modi government must realize what they have missed. The second indicator we are going to look at is vesting. Vesting is the most common form of malnutrition. It is when a child is too thin for their height. So it means that a child may have grown to the appropriate height, but is too thin or underweight compared to their height. Maharashtra leaves the country in Western children, with 26% of children under five being found underweight. What is disappointing is that the figure was the same five years ago. The states that have the smallest proportion of Western children are Mizoram and Manipur. However, during the NFHS IV survey, this number was at 6% in Mizoram and 7% in Manipur, meaning that here too, the number has increased over five years. Overall, vesting has gone up in eight states and has remained unchanged in four states. Vesting is also known as acute malnutrition and Western children have a higher risk of dying from diseases like diarrhea or pneumonia compared to healthy children. The third indicator is anemia. Anemia in children is usually caused due to an iron deficiency. Growing children need a healthy diet that is rich in iron and protein. When there is a shortage of iron, it can result in anemia. Anemia in women can also be attributed to a poor diet. The target set by the government was to reduce anemia in young women by 3% every year. But according to the data, India is looking at an anemia crisis. The most shocking statistic comes from West Bengal, which shows that 71% of women between the age of 15 to 49 are anemic. This number was 63% in the previous survey. In at least 10 states, the level of anemia in women is above 50%. The lowest cases of anemic women is in Manipur and Nagaland. In both states, 29% of women were found to be anemic. Five years ago, it was 26% in Manipur and 28% in Nagaland. Overall, the level of anemic women has gone up in 14 out of 17 states. When we hear of India being referred to as a poor nation, we tend to feel offended. After all, we are an aspirational country and we feel like we are being stereotyped by the West. But a developed wealthy nation cannot have 70% of anemic women or 80% of anemic children. That is the number of anemic children in the state of Gujarat. A mind-boggling 80% of children under 5 years of age do not have the access to healthy meals. In second place is Telangana, where 70% of children are found to be anemic. Overall, anemia in children has gone up in 16 out of 70 states. Only Meghalaya has seen a marginal improvement in the last 5 years. The next indicator of malnutrition is underweight children. Bihar and Gujarat are the worst two states when it comes to the underweight children. The government target was to reduce the level of underweight children by 2% every year. But the level of underweight children has gone up in eight states and remains unchanged in two states. According to a progress report by the Niti IO, at least seven different ministries were involved in the rollout and monitoring of schemes under Poshan Avian. But the bug stops with PM Modi. Overall, the program is called the Prime Minister Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition. The people have a right to know how the 9000 kcal budget is being utilized if none of the targets are actually achieved. Malnutrition is the major cause of disease in India. And according to a study in the Lancet Medical Journal, it is responsible for 68% of deaths of children under 5 years of age. If India wants to be a global superpower, it must raise healthier and happier children. So far, we are way off target.