The point estimate was 40.3 per cent during 2019-21, which was even worse than 37.9 per cent of 2005-06, and only little less than 42.4 per cent during 2015-16, but remains unacceptably high exposing the falsity of the good performance claim of the Modi government during the last eight years of rule. The lower limit of severe child food poverty in India during 2019-21 was 39.7 per cent while the upper limit was40.8 per cent.

For male child, the point estimate for 2019-21 was 39.7 per cent with lower limit 39 per cent and upper limit 40.5 per cent. These are lower than the national average indicating the deep-rooted bias against the girl child, which are suffering the most. Point estimate for the girl child is 40.8 per cent with lower limit 40 per cent and upper limit 41.6 per cent.

For urban areas, the point estimate for 2019-21 was 37.5 per cent with lower limit 36.3 per cent and upper limit 38.7 per cent. The corresponding figure for rural areas were 41.3 per cent, 40.7 per cent, and 41.9 percent, which only shows that the babies in rural areas are suffering the most.

The UNICEF data covers the children of age group of 6-23 months of age. The point estimate for 2019-21 of babies from 6 to 11 months is 57.1 per cent with lower limit 56.1 per cent and upper limit 58 per cent. These children are the worst sufferers, and their situation somewhat improves as they advance in age.

The corresponding point estimate for babies 12 to 15 months of age was 35.8 per cent with lower limit 34.7 per cent and upper limit 36.9 per cent. For babies 16-19 months these figures are 30, 29, and 31.1 per cent. For the children between 20 to 23, these figures are 27.3, 26.3 and 28.4 per cent.

The UNICEF report titled “Child Food Poverty: A Nutrition Crisis in Early Childhood” says that children in low- and lower-middle-income countries are disproportionately affected by severe food poverty. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russel says, “Fuelled by conflict climate change and the enduring secondary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, a global food and nutrition crisis is pushing already vulnerable children into unprecedented levels of food poverty and nutrition vulnerability.”

In 2022, the number of children suffering from sever wasting in the 15 countries worst affected by the present global crises has increased at an extraordinary speed: one additional child with sever wasting every single minute, Ms Russell said.

Globally, 478 million children under 5 years of age experiencing food poverty of which 202 million are suffering from severe food poverty. In South Asia, 130 million (half of all children) are experiencing food poverty and 64 million severe food poverty. In South Asia 37 per cent children are suffering severe child food poverty while 39 per cent are suffering moderate child poverty. India’s position is worse than this.

Children in poor and rural households are more vulnerable to severe food poverty which exposes the inequalities between the richest and poorest families.

According to the 2022 Global report on Food Crises, 42 countries are experiencing high levels of food and nutrition insecurity and 15 of them are experiencing some of the worst impacts of the global crisis of food and nutrition.

In Asia countries facing severe child poverty are Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, State of Palestine, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, and Yemen.

In Europe such countries are Albania, Belarus, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, and Serbia. In Oceania the children of Fiji, Kiribati, Marshal Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu are reported suffering from severe child food poverty.

Situation in Latin America is worse where Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominical Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Uruguay have reported severe child poverty levels.

The worst region is Africa where Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivore, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eswatini, Ehiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe have reported severe level of child poverty.

In this situation, UNICEF calls for bolder action and greater accountability to end child food poverty. Together with development and humanitarian partners, national and international civil society and non-governmental organisations, and the private sector, and governments must mobilize the food, health and social protection systems to deliver nutritious, safe ad affordable foods and essential nutrition services to guarantee every child’s right to food and nutrition everywhere.

To end child poverty, UNICEF says, we must shape food systems to be more accountable for making nutritious food available and affordable to families with young children; leverage health systems to deliver essential nutrition services to young children and their mothers, prioritizing those most at risk; design protection systems that are responsive to the food and nutrition needs of the most vulnerable children and families; and strengthen nutrition governance – nationally and globally – to eliminate child food poverty, including in fragile and humanitarian settings. (IPA Service)