Infant Malnutrition

The Photograph which won the Pulitzer Price was of a small kid, suffering of hunger and malnutrition crawling towards the food , and a vulture waiting behind him, waiting for him to die. Although the Photographer died due to the depression, but he had captured the gory reality of hunger and malnutrition in one of the most heart touching way.

We are reaching new heights day by day, but are we really growing as a human being !! In fact with the advance in technology we are losing touch of humanity which is the soul of our existence. In the world where the economies are in size of trillions, we are not even competent enough to provide food for the infants of our world. Where the parties galore with the sumptuous dishes, some unfortunates in world cant have 2 meals a day to survive.

If we look at the cause of the problem, one can argue that it is due to the shortage of the food grains in the world. If one even subscribe to this view, then it is itself the testimony to the height of the avarice of the human beings. Substituting cash crops for the Food grains may fill the pockets of few, but it cuts a deep hole in the skin of the mankind.

Apart from that, the granaries of leading countries of the world are overflowing with the food grains. But the selfish trade policies, arm-twisting WTO for their own monetary benefits has ensured that the food is not reaching to the needy. We recently saw a prime minister of the most powerful country of the world accusing the 3rd world countries for creating the shortage of the Food Grains.

The over ambitious zeal of few nations to become self proclaimed messiahs of humanity and justice also aggravated the situation to a large extent. The so called war of freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq deteriorated the already pain stricken life style of the citizens out there. In a Country where majority of money is spent on arm fighting, where would the money to feed infants come from. The Recent ousting of LTTE in Sri lanka would be a meaningless victory if government fails to address the humanitarian crisis over there.

We live in a world of hypocrites and lunatics. When some body sitting in a AC Room with all the facilities in the world do grave mistakes, the whole world feels the tremor of the earthquake. Banks come out with the package of billions and trillions of dollars to rescue the companies whose bosses do not really deserve to be rescued on the other hand, 67 of every 1000 children die in Zimbabwe, For many children in sudan the camps are the houses. They do not what is pizza and what is a Barista. Getting two meals a day is equivalent to enjoying a dinner at Hilton for them.
Not a tear is shed for them, not any expert write about them, not a Organisation runs conferences for them. They are left to die in the oblivion.

So what should be done. Hmm, Finding the ways to tackle this problem is not rocket Science. First and foremost, the apathy of the world towards these under privileged nations should be turned into empathy. Proper Fund allocation should be there. Organisation Like WTO and FAO should take the responsibility to provide the food grain to every mouth particularly the infants. The wastage should be reduced , a grain saved is a grain produced in the current world scenario.

The Growth and development of the world should be inclusive in nature , we can’t leave the under privileged behind and then profess to achieve the growth and development of the world. Countries Like US and other developed countries should not compromise on the fund allocations and should not shun their duties of helping the world, as the world can live without the nuclear rockets but can’t live without the bread and butter. We have to again redefine our priorities, we have to do a collective effort to save the future of the world dying untimely death, otherwise the history will never forgive us.

If we talk about the Indian context, the current government rides on the populist agenda of the inclusive growth, but it seems to be hell bent on issues like nuclear deal or economic sector reforms, where still on an average 1 person die everyday at vidarbha due to poverty, and poverty gives the way to malnutrition. Situations are still grave at kandhamal, where the hygiene conditions at refugee camps are aggravating the ill effects of malnutrition. It is the time , we should act and act decisively. There is no shortage of food grains in our food reservoirs and it’s better to distribute it to the needy rather than having rodents feast on it. For this we would need a robust and efficient public distribution system, proper identification of the needy and malnourished segments of the society and above all the undying will to make a difference.