India
has more stunted children than Nigeria, Pakistan, China and the Republic of
Congo combined, with 48 million under the age of five.Photo: AFP
India is home to the world's largest number of stunted children
due to a lack of toilets, dirty water and poor hygiene, according to a new
study published on Tuesday.
India has more stunted children than Nigeria, Pakistan, China
and the Republic of Congo combined, with 48 million under the age of five --
about 30 percent of the global total, a WaterAid report said.
Stunting is a form of malnutrition in which children are shorter
than normal for their age and is largely irreversible after the age of two.
If they survive, they grow up physically and intellectually
weaker than their better-fed peers.
WaterAid says a lack of toilets and clean water are causing high
levels of stunting in India.
Contamination can spread disease and infection.
Data collated by WaterAid showed that 1,40,000 children die
every year from diarrhoea in India, while 76 million do not have access to safe
water and 774 million live without adequate sanitation.
"India has the highest number of people in the world...
practising open defecation, which spreads deadly diseases and makes children
more susceptible to diarrhoea and other infections," said Megan
Wilson-Jones, WaterAid health and hygiene analyst.
"So it is no surprise that so many children in India suffer
from stunted growth," she added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed the need to clean up
India since storming to power in 2014 and has repeatedly urged every household
to have a toilet within four years to end the spread of disease.
Nigeria ranked second with 10.3 million stunted children while
Pakistan stood third in WaterAid's study with 9.9 million.
Impoverished Bangladesh fared better than its bigger, wealthier
neighbour India, recording 5.5 million cases in its 160 million-strong
population.
The country has almost eliminated open defecation in just over a
decade through a concerted campaign to build toilets.
East Timor was the country where stunting was most prevalent.
Nearly 58 percent of the young nation's children suffered from
the condition, while Germany had the lowest rate at 1.3 percent.AFP
Stunting is a form of malnutrition in which children are shorter
than normal for their age and is largely irreversible after the age of two.
They grow up physically and intellectually weaker than their better-fed peers.
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