#nfhs-5

[indizombie]

There are two statistics in NFHS-5 that ought to be a much greater source of worry for the Assam government and for all who care for girls and women. Women’s job opportunities in the state declined sharply over the previous decade, and the sex ratio at birth in urban Assam is worryingly low at 916 girls per 1,000 boys. In the face of such facts, why is “child marriage” becoming the state’s number one law-and-order problem? Putting husbands, fathers or priests in jail will not empower women or stop underage marriage. It will only make women even more vulnerable, encourage concealment, and strengthen prejudices against minorities and the poor.

Mary John, ‘Assam’s crackdown on child marriages is driven more by politics than concern for women’, Indian Express

[indizombie]

In 2011, the National Sample Survey data revealed the declining protein intake of Indians. This was confirmed, in 2019, by the EAT-Lancet Commission Study on Sustainable Food Systems, which pointed out that Indians consume more simple carbohydrates than proteins as well as less complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables. Given that non-vegetarian diets are protein-rich, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that restrictions on eating meat and eggs could increase the nutritional deficits of a section of the country’s population — a worrying proposition given India’s poor report card in repeated Global Hunger Index surveys.

‘NFHS data on diet practices should lead to more informed debate on nutrition, remove blinkers of policymakers’, Indian Express

[gyandutt]

खुले आसमान तले निपटान

ब्लॉग- खुले आसमान तले निपटान अगले पच्चीस साल में भारत विकसित देश बन जायेगा। तब भी लोग प्लास्टिक की बोतल ले कर दिशा-मैदान के लिये जाते-आते दिख जायेंगे। शर्त लगाई जा सकती है!

सवेरे साइकिल ले कर घूमने निकलते रेलवे लाइन के आसपास ताजा निपटान देखने की अब आदत पड़ गई है। पहले जेब से रुमाल निकाल कर नाक पर दबाता था। अब दूर से ही सांस रोक पैडल तेज मारता हुआ वह इलाका पार करता हूं। आंकड़े में गांव ओपन डीफेकेशन फ्री चार पांच साल पहले ही हो चुका है। पर सीन जस का तस है। मेरे घर के पीछे का खेत भी हमारा है। उसमें हमने कंटीली बाड़ भी लगा रखी है। घर की आड़ और कंटीली बाड़ ने नीलगाय और अन्य…

खुले आसमान तले निपटान

[indizombie]

The one statistic that sets Assam apart, which may explain the sudden adoption of “zero tolerance”, is that of religion. As per NFHS-5, while the proportion of underage marriages among Hindus in Assam at 23.5 per cent is close to the national average (23.2 per cent), the figures for Muslims (45.8 per cent) and Christians (23.8 per cent) are much higher than their respective national averages of 26.4 per cent and 15.2 per cent. All India figures show that early marriage is strongly concentrated amongst the poorest classes, and this is even more so in Assam, with 42 per cent underage marriages in the poorest 20 per cent poverty class. Poverty and minority religious community identity are closely linked — while 51 per cent Muslims are in the poorest poverty class, only 31 per cent Hindus occupy the same.

Mary John, ‘Assam’s crackdown on child marriages is driven more by politics than concern for women’, Indian Express

[worldinyourpalm]

कम उम्र की लड़कियों से शादी करने वाले पुरुषों पर असम में शिकंजा | Men who have married underage girls face harsh penalties in Assam;

असम में बाल विवाह (लड़कियों की शादी उम्र से पहले)

गुवाहाटी: असम कैबिनेट ने सोमवार को राज्य पुलिस को 14 साल से कम उम्र की लड़कियों से शादी करने वाले पुरुषों पर कार्रवाई शुरू करने और उन्हें पॉक्सो एक्ट के तहत गिरफ्तार करने का निर्देश दिया, जबकि 14 से 18 साल की उम्र की लड़कियों से शादी करने वालों को गिरफ्तार किया जाएगा। बाल विवाह निषेध अधिनियम, 2006 के तहत।

मुख्यमंत्री हिमंत बिस्वा सरमा ने कहा कि मोटे अनुमान के मुताबिक, राज्य में एक लाख से ज्यादा लड़कियों की शादी उम्र से पहले कर दी गई है।

राष्ट्रीय परिवार स्वास्थ्य सर्वेक्षण-5 का हवाला देते हुए

(2019-20) की रिपोर्ट में सरमा ने कहा कि असम में बाल विवाह की संख्या बढ़ रही है। उन्होंने कहा, 'हमारे अपने एक सर्वे में हमने पाया है कि राज्य में महज नौ साल की एक लड़की मां बनी है।'

चूंकि पिछली सरकारों ने राज्य में बाल विवाह निषेध अधिनियम, 2006 पर ध्यान नहीं दिया, इसलिए हमारी शिशु मृत्यु दर और मातृ मृत्यु दर देश में सबसे अधिक बनी हुई है।

यह एक ऐतिहासिक भूल है और हम इसे सुधारने का प्रयास कर रहे हैं। उम्मीद है कि अब से सालों बाद हम असम को बाल विवाह से पूरी तरह मुक्त कर सकते हैं, 'असम के सीएम ने कहा।

NFHS-5 सर्वेक्षण के अनुसार, 20 से 24 वर्ष की आयु की महिलाएं जिनकी शादी 18 वर्ष की आयु से पहले हुई थी, असम में 31% से अधिक महिलाएं हैं, जबकि 2019-20 में राष्ट्रीय औसत 23% से अधिक है......

बाल विवाहः भारत के लिए बड़ी चुनौती | Child marriage: Big challenge for India

[indizombie]

Public health activist Dr Sylvia Karpagam said: “Chronic under nutrition is a grave concern in Karnataka and is likely to have worsened with the pandemic and the lockdown, with the loss of livelihood, displacement, shutting down of public transport, access to basic healthcare such as immunisation, and more importantly, breakdown in social security schemes such as pensions, ICDS and midday meals.” Under the National Food Security Act, vulnerable groups such as children under 14 years, adolescent girls and pregnant/postpartum women are legally entitled to food  and this is not being met, she said. Even food has been reduced to cereal and millet with very poor diversity, and growing criminalisation of all animal source foods other than milk and dairy. These can worsen even the existing indicators, so we need to demand that decisions on food and nutrition should be based on evidence, science and data such as NFHS and CNNS rather than other considerations,” Dr Karpagam said.

Suraksha P, ‘Every third kid under 5 is stunted in Karnataka, shows NFHS data’, Deccan Herald

[indizombie]

The myth of the vegetarian nation has influenced policy matters such as serving eggs in the mid-day meal scheme for children attending government and government-aided schools. Barely a third of the states provide eggs to children under the scheme despite the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition — it works under the aegis of the Indian Council of Medical Research — certifying that eggs are loaded with more nutrients and easier to procure compared to alternatives such as milk and bananas.

‘NFHS data on diet practices should lead to more informed debate on nutrition, remove blinkers of policymakers’, Indian Express

[indizombie]

The National Health and Family Survey (NFHS-5)’s latest edition shows that more people in the country eat meat at least once a week compared to 2015-16. The proportion of Indians who eat eggs too has gone up appreciably. The survey’s data on dietary practices, however, shows a distinct gender skew: The increase in the number of men eating non-vegetarian food is far more pronounced compared to women. All this has significant implications for planning on nutrition-related matters — it is especially salutary for policymakers who obstinately hold on to the stereotype of India being a country of vegetarians.

‘NFHS data on diet practices should lead to more informed debate on nutrition, remove blinkers of policymakers’, Indian Express