BS RAWAT
NEW DELHI: Union Women and Child Development Minister, Smriti Irani, has stated in Rajya Sabha that malnutrition is not a direct cause of death but contributes to increased morbidity and mortality by reducing resistance to infections.

In a written reply, the Minister said that malnourished children are more vulnerable to any infection than normal children. The overall under five child mortality rate in India has reduced from 74.3 (NFHS-3) to 49.7 (NFHS-4) deaths per thousand live births.

Ms Irani informed the House that Anganwadi Services under the Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services Scheme, aim to improve the nutritional and health status of children in the age-group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers and reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity and malnutrition.

Under the scheme, a package of six services is provided through a network of 13.77 lakh Anganwadi Centres in the country. These services include supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition & health education, immunization, health check-up and referral services, Ms Irani stated.