Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Government should focus on health of children' that was published in Newsband

Government should focus on health of children

Lack of healthy weight among many children was revealed by the National Family Health Survey (NFHS). Budget 2016-17 should have raised funding for the flagship nutrition programme, the Integrated Child Development Services. Instead, the Budget has dealt the ICDS a blow in the form of a 7 per cent cut. But several States have used the ICDS to improve health and welfare by providing good supplementary nutrition to children under six.

Data from an earlier round of the NFHS show that when nutrition is available every day to children under two, there is a marked positive effect on their height, particularly for girls. Such early interventions have a life-long impact, in the form of higher productivity and earnings.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has missed the opportunity in the Budget to secure the future of India’s children, but he can still make amends. Government must be proactive in providing remedies and curing aliments for children. Still there are many states where the treatments for children are obsolete which results in death. It’s the responsibility of government to monitor the issues and appropriate funding should be done in order to nullify further consequences.

Supplementary nutrition is essential to maintain the weight of the children and it also gives resistance to various infections and diseases. Providing hygienic food is also important since it supports the good health of the children in the future. Children’s health is the responsibility of all - the Government, State Government, Religious Institutions, NGOs, Societies, UNO, Parents and many others.

Some states need to focus on the proper implementation of ICDS programme since this will help in getting rid of vicious cycle of poverty because stunted & malnourished children are prone to get into the trap of poverty in future when they become adults. This situation hampers the efficiency of the person and the state both.

The government needs to allocate high on the welfare of children and women who are most likely to hit by socioeconomic problems. A nation which cannot take care of its children and mothers don't deserve to be praised, put aside growth numbers.

India according to our constitution is a welfare state and accordingly it must have welfare policies. Even capitalist states like U.S. spend billions on welfare policies. Now if the government cannot provide most basic necessities like nutrition and maternal services, then what about high standard welfare services like secondary and tertiary health care and education. How unhealthy people will double their income even in agricultural or other fields? There is no magic for transformation and it depends mainly on health, education. The debate is not only about existence and allocation on welfare policies but how to implement it effectively while simultaneously increasing household income. Basic social security net will be always needed as some people will always remain poor.