A third of Indian children will be stunted by 2022, thanks to malnutrition

• India aims to end hunger by 2030, under its Sustainable Development goals.
  
• Despite that, stunting in India has reduced by merely 1% annually, in the last ten years.
  
• Nearly one-third (31.4%) of the children below five years of age in India will be stunted by 2022, according to a report by the United Nations and the Ministry of Statistics.

India could be very far from its sustainability target to end hunger by 2030.

Due to acute malnutrition among children aged between one to five years, nearly one-third (31.4%) of Indian children will be stunted by 2022, predicts a report by the United Nations and the Ministry of Statistics.

A recent UN report says that the country should reduce stunting by 2% annually to reach its sustainability targets.

The World Food Programme Report released this week says that stunting in India reduced by merely 1% annually since 2009. This is the slowest among the developing economies, including Asian countries.

India is already home to almost 31% of the world's stunted children at 46.6 million recorded last year, says the Global Nutrition Report.

“Despite India becoming self-sufficient in foodgrain production with a large increase in the production of rice, wheat, and other cereals, the per capita availability of these grains has not increased at the same level due to inequality, population growth, food wastage and losses, and exports,” spokesperson of World Food Programme Herve Verhoosel said according to reports.

Child stunting has been the highest in states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. Kerala, Goa, Puducherry, Daman & Diu, Tripura and Andaman & Nicobar have reached their sustainability goals.

According to government think tank NITI Aayog, merely 9% of infants in India, children between 6 to 24 months of age, received proper nutrition.

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81% of all infants in India are deprived of proper nutrition, says government thinktank NITI Aayog