The complex web of factors behind India’s persistent stunting crisis , Pg9

Key Highlights:

• In 2018, the government launched POSHAN Abhiyaan with a target to reduce stunting among children by at least 2% points each year.
• Poshan Tracker data for June 2025 indicates that 37% of children under five in India are stunted, a decrease of only 1% from 2016.
• Stunting is linked to factors including teenage pregnancies, poor diets, anaemia during pregnancy, inadequate breastfeeding, C-sections, unsanitary conditions, and unsafe drinking water.
• Data from 2019-21 shows that nearly 46% of children born to mothers with no schooling were stunted, compared to 26% of children whose mothers had 12 or more years of schooling.

Detailed Insights:

• The slow progress in reducing stunting points to deeper systemic issues, with nearly half of India’s stunted children already small at birth, highlighting the critical role of maternal health.
• Teenage pregnancies contribute to stunting as adolescent mothers are less prepared physically and less equipped to care for their child, with close to 7% of women aged 15-19 beginning childbearing in India as of 2019-21.
• Increased C-sections, rising from 9% in 2005-06 to over 22% in 2021, can disrupt early breastfeeding practices, depriving newborns of essential nutrients found in colostrum.
• Only around 11% of Indian children under two years met the standard for a minimum acceptable diet in India as of 2019-21, with carbohydrate-heavy meals dominating diets, especially among poor households.
• Anaemia among mothers is closely tied to child stunting, with nearly 57% of women aged 15-49 and 67% of children under five being anaemic in India during 2019-21.
• Poor sanitation and open defecation, practiced by 19% of Indian households (2019-21 data), increase vulnerability to infections that impair nutrition and hinder growth due to contaminated water sources.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Stunting: Impaired growth and development that children experience from poor nutrition, repeated infection, and inadequate psychosocial stimulation.
• POSHAN Abhiyaan: India's flagship program to improve nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.
• Anaemia: A condition marked by a deficiency of red blood cells or of haemoglobin in the blood, resulting in pallor and weariness.