Underprivileged Children, Lactating Mothers Hit Badly Due To Covid-19; PIL Before SC Seeks Formulation Of New Covid Centric Nutrition Strategy [Read Petition]

Filed by Prayas Juvenile Aid Centre Society, a registered society aimed at reorganizing and rebuilding the lives of underprivileged children and exploited women and Make Earth Green Again (MEGA) Foundation, an NGO working at the grassroot level for the welfare of street kids, municipal school children, acid attack victims and tribals, among others.

Petitioners have impleaded all States and Union Territories as parties in the matter along with Union of India through its different ministries and NITI Ayog. The PIL states-

"The closure of government schools and Anganwadis during the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a complete disruption of the Public Distribution Systems and Government nutrition schemes like the Mid Day Meal scheme and the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), thereby resulting in denial of the right to food which is inherent to a life with dignity guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution to millions of underprivileged children and lactating mothers.

State has a statutory and constitutional mandate of providing food and nutritional security to children and lactating mothers are deprived of this basic right during the times of COVID-19 pandemic due to closure of government schools and Anganwadiscentres. Article 39 (a) of the Constitution requires the State to direct its policies towards securing 36 that all its citizens have the right to an adequate means of livelihood. Further, Article 47 spells out the duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and standard of living of its people as a primary responsibility."

It is further contended that malnutrition was a silent epidemic in India even before the pandemic struck, particularly among children-

"But an abrupt lockdown with little preparation, triggered by Covid-19 is threatening a further blow to decades of slow progress in lowering malnutrition" petitioners contend.

Referring to the order of the Supreme Court dated March 18, 2020 wherein SC took suo moto cognizance of the issue regarding mid-day meals due to closure of schools. The Court while issuing notice to all States and Union Territories observed that "It is necessary that all the States should come out with a uniform policy so as to ensure, that while preventing spread of COVID-19, the schemes for providing nutritional food to the children and nursing and lactating mothers are not adversely affected."

However, the ground level reality still grim with most of the eligible children not getting basis supply of food, dry ration or food security allowance as mandated by the Ministry of Human Resources vide several guidelines issued to the States from time to time, petitioners argue.

In a recent Lancet study, UNICEF has warned that three lakh children could die in India over the next six months due to disrupted health services and surge in child-wasting, a form of malnutrition when the child is too thin for his/her height. India is expected to bear one of the heaviest tolls of this preventable devastation, partly because its record in managing malnutrition among children was grim even in pre-Covid-19 times. India is home to half of the "wasted children" globally, reckons the recently launched Global Nutrition Report 2020. More than one third (37.9 per cent) of our children under-five years are stunted, and over one fifth (20.8 per cent) are wasted. Thus, the petitioners suggested-

"In the absence of any certainty as to the reopening of schools amid the COVID -19 pandemic, it is necessary that the State Governments draw up an action plan with a monitoring mechanism to effectively cover the loopholes in the proper distribution of hot cooked meals, dry ration and food security compensation. To ensure food availability and its access by the most vulnerable populations, actions are needed at several points within the food supply chain while focusing on the following aspects among others:

I. Extending large-scale food fortification to other staples like flour, oil, dairy, etc. and establish mandatory standards by category.

II. Adjusting the standard delivery approaches for distributing key micronutrient supplements such as iron/folate, calcium, and vitamin A keeping social distancing in mind and to prevent transmission of COVID-19.

III. Investing in information and education about good nutrition practices, extending from a diverse diet to deworming, breastfeeding, hygiene and sanitation, etc.

IV. Formulation of strategies to closely monitor the food and nutrition situation among migrant labourers.

V. Taking appropriate measures for proper storage and maintenance of dry ration which have been stocked in several state-run schools prior to the lockdown in March and to take appropriate natural pest control measures.

VI. Regular collection and analysis of maternal and child nutrition data at state and district levels and carrying out regional and cluster-specific mapping so as to identify areas where malnutrition is increasing.

VII. Making the existing systems, including growth monitoring and reporting by Anganwadi workers reporting through the MWCD mobile phone system (ICDS-CAS)more effective "

Petitioners have also sought directions to formulate a mechanism for tracing migrant workers who have moved out of cities and to closely monitor the food and nutrition situation among them, especially women and children, and to provide appropriate responses. Moreover, directions are sought to form a committee of experts to identify bottlenecks, operational difficulties, policy constraints and best practices so that suitable steps can be taken for effective policy formulation, programme implementation, monitoring and evaluation in the field of child and women nutrition.

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