India's Undernourished Children : A Call for Reform and Action

This paper explores the dimensions of child undernutrition in India, and examines the effectiveness of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program in addressing it. The paper finds that although levels of undernutrition in India declined modestly during the 1990s, the reductions lagged far behind that achieved by other countries with similar economic growth rates. Nutritional inequalities across different states, socioeconomic and demographic groups are large - and, in general, are increasing. The study also finds that the ICDS program appears to be well-designed and well-placed to address the multidimensional causes of malnutrition in India. However, there are several mismatches between the program's design and its actual implementation that prevent it from reaching its potential. The paper concludes with a discussion of a number of concrete actions that can be taken to bridge the gap between the policy intentions of ICDS and its actual implementation.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Shekar, Meera, Gragnolati, Michele, Das Gupta, Monica, Lee, Yi-Kyoung, Bredenkamp, Caryn
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2005-08
Subjects:	AGE GROUPS, ANEMIA, ANTENATAL CARE, ANTHROPOMETRIC INDICES, CHILD CARE, CHILD DEATHS, CHILD DEVELOPMENT, CHILD FEEDING, CHILD HEALTH, CHILD MALNUTRITION, COMMUNICABLE DISEASES, COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION, DETERMINANTS OF MALNUTRITION, DIABETES, DIARRHEA, DIRECT NUTRITION INTERVENTIONS, DISEASES, EARLY CHILD DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATION, EDUCATION SERVICES, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, FAMILY HEALTH, FOLIC ACID, FOOD INSECURITY, FOOD SECURITY, FOOD SUPPLEMENTATION, FOOD SUPPLY, GIRLS, GROWTH PROMOTION, HEALTH, HEALTH EDUCATION, HEALTH MANAGEMENT, HEALTH OUTCOMES, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, HUNGER, IDD, IMMUNIZATION, IMR, INFANT MORTALITY, INFANT MORTALITY RATE, INFECTION, INTERVENTION, IODINE, IODINE DEFICIENCY, IODINE DEFICIENCY DISORDERS, IRON, IRON DEFICIENCY, LEADERSHIP, LOW BIRTH WEIGHT, MALARIA, MALNUTRITION, MEASLES, MICRONUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES, MICRONUTRIENT MALNUTRITION, MICRONUTRIENT SUPPLEMENTATION, MICRONUTRIENTS, MILD MALNUTRITION, MODERATE MALNUTRITION, MORBIDITY, MORTALITY, NUTRITION, NUTRITION INTERVENTIONS, NUTRITION OUTCOMES, NUTRITION POLICY, NUTRITION PROGRAMS, NUTRITION SERVICES, NUTRITIONAL OUTCOMES, NUTRITIONAL STATUS, OVERNUTRITION, PARITY, PEM, PREGNANT WOMEN, PRESCHOOL CHILDREN, PRESCHOOL EDUCATION, PREVALENCE OF MALNUTRITION, PRODUCTIVITY, PROTEIN, PROTEIN ENERGY MALNUTRITION, PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, PUBLIC HEALTH, RURAL AREAS, SANITATION, SCHOOLING, SOCIAL RESEARCH, STUNTING, SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING, UNDERNUTRITION, UNDERWEIGHT CHILDREN, VITAMIN A, VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY, WASTING, WEIGHT GAIN, WORKERS, YOUNG CHILD,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/08/6476657/indias-undernourished-children-call-reform-action https://hdl.handle.net/10986/13644
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