Malnutrition Exaggerated

http://www.hindu.com/2009/11/28/stories/2009112857052000.htm

An article recently came out in the Hindu which claims that 25 children died from malnutrition in the month of October in just two villages in the Meghnagar district of MP. The deaths are attributed to malaria, anemia, and malnutrition.

The article then goes on to site malnutrition figures from around the state, but gives no clear evidence or authority for the deaths in Jhabua. The author is accusatory of government officials being complacent and the anganwadi system failing.

While I'm usual right on board with many of these criticisms and believe that journalist have an important role in highlighting situations like this, unfortunately I have to say that this article is wrong, and irresponsible journalism.

Meghnagar is our main district in Jhabua. We have health workers and a wide network of contacts throughout the district. When a child has SAM we usually know, when a child dies, we almost always hear. So far in the past month we've recorded 4 children dying from malnutrition. This is a number that has been confirmed by the Joint Director of Health for the area. I consider even 4 children's deaths due to malnutrition alarming. This should be enough to make newspaper headlines and to pressure government officials and social organizations to act.

But creating a panic and over-reporting the problem can cause a negative backlash. More time gets spent investigating and proving the allegations wrong then actually fixing the root of the problem.

We'll try our best over the next few days to further look into these claims to ensure that, God-willing, this article has exaggerated the situation.