Executive Summary:
This document presents data on malnutrition among tribal children under five years and anemia/thinness in tribal women aged 15-49 in India, as per the National Family Health Survey 5 (2019-21). It outlines government initiatives under the National Health Mission (NHM) to address these issues, and includes Poshan Abhiyaan data for June 2025. The information was provided to Lok Sabha in response to Unstarred Question No. 926 on July 25, 2025.
Key Points / Main Content:
Malnutrition Prevalence (NFHS-5 Data):
* Annexure I provides state/UT-wise data on the prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight in tribal children under 5 years.
* It also includes data on the prevalence of anemia and thinness (BMI below normal) in tribal women aged 15-49 years.
Government Interventions (RMNCAHN under NHM):
* Nutrition Rehabilitation Centers (NRCs): Provide inpatient care for children under 5 with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), focusing on caregiver education.
* Mothers Absolute Affection (MAA) Programme: Promotes early and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, followed by appropriate complementary feeding.
* Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) Strategy: Aims to reduce anemia in children (6-59 months, 5-9 years), adolescents (10-19 years), and women (15-49 years, pregnant and lactating) through six key interventions.
* National Deworming Day (NDD): Administers albendazole to children and adolescents (1-19 years) twice a year to reduce soil-transmitted helminth infections.
* Lactation Management Centres: Offer lactation support and ensure access to safe donor human milk for sick or preterm infants.
* Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Days (VHSNDs): Provide maternal and child health services and nutrition awareness in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
Poshan Abhiyaan Status:
* Annexure II presents state/UT-wise data on the number of stunted, wasted, and underweight tribal children under 5 years, as per Poshan Tracker data for June 2025 (data shared by Ministry of Women and Child Development).
Impact Analysis:
Tribal Children Under 5:
* Impact: Assessment of nutritional status (stunting, wasting, underweight) and benefit from targeted programs.
* Action Required: Participation in ICDS and health programs, access to NRCs if severely malnourished.
Tribal Women (15-49 years):
* Impact: Assessment of anemia and thinness levels and eligibility for interventions.
* Action Required: Participate in AMB program, attend VHSNDs for health services and awareness.
Healthcare Providers & Anganwadi Workers:
* Impact: Required to implement and monitor the various programs (MAA, AMB, NDD, VHSNDs).
* Action Required: Implement the RMNCAHN strategy effectively, collect and report data accurately through platforms like Poshan Tracker.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare & Ministry of Women and Child Development:
* Impact: Responsible for the overall strategy, implementation, and monitoring of programs aimed at reducing malnutrition.
* Action Required: Ensure effective coordination between different programs, allocate resources, and track progress towards national goals.
Key Entities Referenced
National Family Health Survey 5 2019-21: A survey providing data on various health and population indicators, including malnutrition, used as a source in the policy document.
POSHAN Abhiyaan: A Government of India's National Nutrition Mission to improve nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS): A government program in India providing food, preschool education, primary healthcare, immunization, health check-up and referral services to children under 6 years of age and their mothers.
National Health Mission (NHM): A government program to address the health needs of under-served rural areas. The RMNCAHN strategy is implemented under NHM.
Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAHN): A strategy implemented under the National Health Mission to improve health outcomes across the life cycle, with a focus on women and children.
Nutrition Rehabilitation Centers (NRCs): Public health facilities that provide inpatient medical and nutritional care to children under 5 years suffering from Severe Acute Malnourishment (SAM).
Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB): A strategy to reduce anemia among six beneficiary age groups through the implementation of six interventions.
Ministry of Women and Child Development: A government ministry responsible for policies and programs related to women and child development, including aspects of the POSHAN Abhiyaan.
GOVERNMENT OFINDIA
MINISTRYOFHEALTHAND FAMILYWELFARE
DEPARTMENT OFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 926
TO BE ANSWERED ON25THJULY2025
MALNUTRITIONIN TRIBALCHILDREN
926. SHRISAPTAGIRISANKAR ULAKA:
Will the Ministerof HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate:
(a) the total number and percentage of tribal children under five years who are stunted,
wasted andunderweight inthe country, State/UT-wise;
(b) the number and percentage of tribal women (ages 15–49) who are underweight or
anaemicinthe country, State/UT-wise;
(c) whether the Government has identified any States or districts where malnutrition levels
among tribal populations exceed the national average and if so, the details of targeted
programmesbeingimplemented; and
(d)the currentStatusofPOSHANAbhiyaan,IntegratedChild DevelopmentServices(ICDSs)
inthese areasinthisregard?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILY
WELFARE
(SMT. ANUPRIYAPATEL)
(a) and (b) As per National Family Health Survey 5 (2019-21), the prevalence of
malnutrition in children under 5 years and prevalence of anaemia and thinness in women age
15-49 years among scheduled tribe across the country and State/UT wise is placed at
Annexure I.
(c) The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare implements Reproductive, Maternal,
Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) strategy in a life cycle
approach under National Health Mission (NHM), which includes interventions to address
malnutrition and anaemia in women and children across the country, including Scheduled
Tribes (STs)asplaced below:
Nutrition Rehabilitation Centers(NRCs) are set up at public health facilitiesto provide
in-patient medical and nutritional care to children under 5 years suffering from Severe
Acute Malnourishment (SAM) with medical complications with special focus on
improving the skills of mothers and caregivers on timely, adequate and appropriate
feedingfor children.
Mothers’ Absolute Affection (MAA) Programme is implemented to improve
breastfeeding coverage which includes early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive
breastfeeding for first six months followed by counselling on age-appropriate
complementaryfeeding practices.
1 Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) strategy is implemented to reduce anemia among six
beneficiaries age group - children (6-59 months), children (5-9 years), adolescents (10-19
years), pregnant and lactating women and in women of reproductive age group (15-49
years) in life cycle approach through implementation of six interventions via robust
institutional mechanism.
Under National Deworming Day (NDD) albendazole tablets are administered ina single
fixed day approach via schools and Anganwadi centres in two rounds (February and
August) to reduce the soil transmitted helminth (STH) infestation among all children and
adolescents(1-19 years).
Lactation ManagementCentres: are established toprovide lactationsupport tomothers
and to facilitate expression of mother’s own milk and ensure availability of safe,
pasteurized Donor Human Milk for feeding of sick, preterm and low birth weight babies
admittedinNeonatal Intensive Care Units andSpecialNewborn Care Units.
Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Days (VHSNDs) are observed for
provision of maternal and child health services and creating awareness on maternal
and child care including nutrition in convergence with Ministry of Women and Child
Development.
(d) As shared byMinistry of Womenand Child Development,status of PoshanAbhiyan with
number of tribal children under 5 years who are Stunted, Wasted and Underweight as per
Poshantrackerdata for June-2025 month are placedat Annexure II.
2Annexurereferredtointhereplytoparts(a)and(b)ofLokSabhaUnstarredQuestionNo.926for
answeron25.07.2025
Annexure I
State/UT-wise prevalence of malnutrition inchildrenunderage 5yearsandthinness and
anaemiainwomen age 15-49 yearsamongscheduled tribe(Source: NFHS-5,2019-21)
Children Children Children under Womenage15- Womenage15
S under5 under5 5yearswho 49yearswhoare -49years with
State/UT
No. yearswho yearswho are anaemic BMIbelow
arestunted arewasted underweight normal
INDIA 40.9 23.2 39.5 64.6 25.5
1 Andaman&Nicobar 21.9 15.8 18.1 30.5 6.4
2 AndhraPradesh 44.5 20 45.2 62.6 21
3 Arunachal Pradesh 27.9 13.2 13.7 36.3 4.2
4 Assam 31 19.1 26.4 69.2 11.8
5 Bihar 46.9 23.8 45.9 64.7 29.7
6 Chandigarh 61.9 61.9 61.9 0 0
7 Chhattisgarh 38.6 21 36 70.9 29.3
8 DNH&DD 50.5 23.9 51.4 70.9 31.2
9 Delhi 36.2 9.9 31.7 51.5 6.4
10 Goa 27.1 21.2 14.7 42.5 17.1
11 Gujarat 46.1 30.3 49.1 78.3 35.1
12 Haryana 22.2 12.7 20.6 64.2 20.4
13 Himachal Pradesh 31.3 15 20.3 53.8 13.7
14 Jammu &Kashmir 28.3 19.3 24.7 68.6 6.5
15 Jharkhand 45.1 25.7 47.4 72 28
16 Karnataka 41.2 22.2 36.7 46.2 21.5
17 Kerala 32.4 14.8 21.8 52.9 18.9
18 Ladakh 34.8 17.4 22.6 92.4 4.7
19 Lakshadweep 36.1 16.6 23.7 24.2 8.4
20 MadhyaPradesh 40.4 21.2 39.5 64.2 27.5
21 Maharashtra 43.1 33.9 46.3 59.7 30.2
22 Manipur 27.1 10.2 12.7 26.8 6.2
23 Meghalaya 46.4 11.9 25.9 53.3 11
24 Mizoram 28.7 9.5 12.6 34.3 5.4
25 Nagaland 32.7 17.9 26.2 27.7 10.9
26 Odisha 42.9 22.7 42.1 71.7 30.7
27 Puducherry 0 0 0 67.3 14.6
28 Punjab 27.7 0 16.9 54.4 15.8
29 Rajasthan 35.4 18.7 31.9 61.6 24.8
30 Sikkim 23 10.4 16 42.6 4.2
31 TamilNadu 28.4 20.3 30.7 59 19.6
32 Telangana 34.3 23.5 33.5 64 21.5
33 Tripura 34.4 20.4 30.7 66.8 12.4
34 Uttar Pradesh 47.1 23.4 47.3 51.1 22.3
35 Uttarakhand 25.3 10.5 16.8 56 15.1
36 WestBengal 37.7 25.6 43.3 82.4 22.7
3Annexurereferredtointhereplytopart(d)ofLokSabhaUnstarredQuestionNo.926for
answeron25.07.2025
Annexure II
State/UTwise statusof PoshanAbhiyan: Numberof tribal childrenunder5yearswho
aremalnourished(Source: PoshanTrackerdata-June2025)
State/UT Stunted Wasted Underweight
Children Children Children
Andaman& Nicobar 42 4 10
Andhra Pradesh 33143 10039 18620
Arunachal Pradesh 14835 2060 4531
Assam 69136 6503 22781
Bihar 13608 3018 7622
Chhattisgarh 216955 64645 121690
Dadra & Nagar Haveli - Daman 9591 820 4350
& Diu
Delhi 0 0 0
Goa 0 0 0
Gujarat 171570 37695 111862
Haryana 0 0 0
HimachalPradesh 1852 238 645
J&K 5044 480 1456
Jharkhand 212663 31577 105485
Karnataka 381 32 171
Kerala 1832 304 981
Ladakh 1551 31 250
Lakshadweep 1474 382 741
Madhya Pradesh 469828 106108 322504
Maharashtra 357472 34893 191637
Manipur 9923 904 3292
Meghalaya 52451 2600 13109
Mizoram 17258 1864 3993
Nagaland 12697 2797 3152
Odisha 116077 17505 60776
Puducherry 0 0 0
Punjab 0 0 0
Rajasthan 164870 36129 101803
Sikkim 227 36 44
Tamil Nadu 8072 1894 3855
Telangana 38946 7766 20690
Tripura 23978 4945 10649
UT-Chandigarh 0 0 0
Uttar Pradesh 129 5 64
Uttarakhand 2595 204 774
West Bengal 130525 27609 48945
4