The study led by Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health reports the prevalence of ‘Zero-food’ children in India at 19.3%, comparable with that of Western African nations like Mali (20.5%) and Guinea (21.8%). India accounted for the highest number of zero-food children in the study (6.7 million); Nigeria had the second-highest number (962,000), followed by Pakistan (849,000).

The study, authored by S. V. Subramanian, Professor of Population Health and Geography, and Rockli Kim, a visiting scientist at the Harvard Centre for Population and Development Studies, was published in the JAMA Network Open, a peer-reviewed journal, on February 12, 2024.

The cross-sectional study included a sample of 2,76,379 children aged 6 to 23 months across 92 low- and middle-income countries. The data was gathered from nationally representative cross-sectional household surveys (DHS and MICS) conducted between 2010 and 2022. The data analyzed for India was taken from the National Health Family Survey done from 2019 to 2021.

This research has estimated percentage of zero-food children at 10.4%. However, the term ‘zero-food’ excludes breast milk and other liquids like broth and juice as food items. The percentage of children who were both zero food and not being breastfed was much lesser (<1%).

According to the authors, it is important to address the nutritional needs of these vulnerable children as it is critical for their overall health, growth, and future well-being.

According to sources, the study was contested by two Indian economists calling it deliberately misleading.

References:

1. Karlsson O, Kim R, Subramanian SV. Prevalence of Children Aged 6 to 23 Months Who Did Not Consume Animal Milk, Formula, or Solid or Semisolid Food During the Last 24 Hours Across Low- and Middle-Income Countries. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(2):e2355465. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.55465

 (Rehash/Dr. Yogeeta/MSM)