Gujarat is addressing a critical child malnutrition issue affecting over 2 lakh children across 20 districts, implementing schemes to provide fortified food and nutritional support to combat the crisis.
Key Points
- Over 2 lakh children in 20 districts of Gujarat are malnourished, with a significant number being underweight or severely underweight.
- Tribal-dominated Panchmahal district has the highest number of malnourished children, followed by Banaskantha and Kheda.
- The Gujarat government is implementing various schemes, including providing fortified food in Anganwadi centres and nutritional support for mothers, to combat malnutrition.
- Schemes like Take Home Ration, Dudh Sanjeevani, and Poshan Sudha are being used to provide supplementary nutrition to children and mothers in Gujarat.
- While the number of malnourished children increased in some districts, there was an overall reduction of nearly 1.59 lakh such children in the 20 districts over one year.
The Gujarat government on Saturday informed the assembly that more than 2 lakh children in 20 out of 34 districts in the state were malnourished and that it was taking various steps to improve the situation.
Responding to a set of questions raised by Congress MLAs during Question Hour, Women and Child Development Minister Manisha Vakil informed that out of 2.05 lakh malnourished children recorded in 20 districts, nearly 1.69 lakh were 'underweight', while 36,805 fell in the category of 'severely underweight' as on January 2026.
According to data tabled by Vakil, the tribal-dominated Panchmahal district in central Gujarat accounted for the highest number of malnourished children (20,762), followed by Banaskantha (19,391), Kheda (18,590), Sabarkantha (16,588), Dahod (16,388), Chhotaudepur (16,322), Narmada (8,881) and Mahisagar (7,838).
While tribal-dominated Tapi district recorded the lowest number of malnourished children (4,424) among these 20 districts, the highly urbanized districts of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar recorded figures of 6,411 and 6,467, respectively.
In one year, as many as 1,164 malnourished children were added in Kheda and Chhotaudepur districts. There was also a reduction of nearly 1.59 lakh such children during that period in these 20 districts.
Government Initiatives to Combat Malnutrition
"The state government is taking various steps to end malnutrition. Fortified nutritious food is provided to children in all Anganwadi centres. Moreover, women receive nutritious food for 1,000 days before and after birth for the sake of the children's health," Vakil told the House.
The government also provides supplementary nutrition to the Anganwadi children and their mothers under various schemes, such as Take Home Ration, Dudh Sanjeevani and Poshan Sudha scheme to tackle malnutrition, she added.
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