Child malnutrition, specifically undernutrition, is a chronic condition involving serious deficiencies in nutrient or energy intake. It creates long-lasting detriments to the physical growth, cognitive development, medical history, and socioeconomic status of the suffering children and their families. According to the WHO, across the globe, nearly half of deaths among children under 5 years of age are linked to undernutrition.
This has been an especially longstanding challenge for the public administration of India. Despite decades of investment to tackle this malaise, India’s child malnutrition rates are still one of the most alarming in the world. The Global Hunger Index (2021) — which is calculated on the basis of population undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting, and child mortality — places India at the 101st spot among 116 countries.
While malnutrition in the country has decreased to an extent, the burden of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is on the rise. According to the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5),
As per a 2021 MoWCD report on the issue, the highest number of malnourished children in India are in Maharashtra (>600,000) while Rajasthan, the country’s largest state, holds the third highest burden of child undernutrition over the last three decades. Particularly in India, undernutrition is a nuanced, multifactorial problem driven by complexities related to pregnancy, family, community, and health delivery
Khushi Baby’s High Risk Child (HRC) Tracking program functions through the integration of transformative digital health tools within India’s pre-existing community health system. Through the implementation of apps for community health workers, an automated AI-enabled Dashboard, and a team of field monitors, we aim to facilitate a closed referral loop involving quality data collection, automated flagging, and field verification in order to dramatically improve the rate and efficiency of the timely detection of malnutrition in rural children.
