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DEVELOPMENT: STARVATION DEATHS
Consumed By Hunger
Maharashtra has a surfeit of foodgrain. Yet, over 500 infants have died
in Nandurbar district since January this year of malnutrition and related
complications.
By Sheela Raval
Shanti Karma is
as miserable as her one-year-old daughter Maneesha. With a torn sari she
tries to protect her youngest daughter from the blistering heat; with
vain hope she tries to feed her water. But wracked by vomiting and loose
motions for the
past three days, Maneesha Vansingh Karma continues to shriek relentlessly.
There is little chance that she will survive.
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FACE OF THE FUTURE: Spindly arms and bulging stomachs are typical
of the countless children suffering from dehydration, diarrhoea
and gastroenteritis in Dhadgoan
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That's what the assistant medical officer at
Dhadgoan Rural Hospital - 30 km from Khamla village at Nandurbar district
in Maharashtra-had said when the malnourished and underweight Maneesha
(she weighs 2.5 kg against the 7.5 kg that she should) was admitted there
last week at the behest of a local social worker. She could be saved,
he had added, if they took her to the Civil Hospital in Dhule. But with
Shanti and her husband earning a measly Rs 50 a day, they couldn't afford
to. So they brought her back to their makeshift hammock at Khamla. Says
Shanti: "I can't see her suffering. I wish she would die."
Since January this year, as many as 515 children
below six years of age have died of malnutrition, dehydration and heat-related
diseases in northern Maharashtra, mostly in Nandurbar district. While
the state Government records attribute most of these deaths to weakened
immune systems resulting from malnutrition, the district health unit says
the children died of post-measles complications. Says a doctor at Dhadgoan
Hospital: "Malnutrition and infections drive the tribal children
into a vicious cycle of poor growth and early death."
A recent survey by medical officers in Dhadgoan
reveals that over 200 children (below six years of age) share Maneesha's
predicament and require immediate medical attention. Of these, about 60
per cent are on the brink of death. The Dhadgoan Hospital has admitted
over 84 children, of whom 95 per cent are underweight and malnourished.
Already, 11 cases have been referred to the better-equipped Dhule Civil
Hospital. These children are diagnosed for severe dehydration, heat stroke,
vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, broncho-pneumonia and acute gastroenteritis.
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Most
deaths have occurred in areas that have received the special attention
of successive state governments.
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WISHING WELL: One of the few in Dhadgoan
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That the state Government is aware of the situation-and
shaken by it-was apparent after seven children died within a week at Ghatli
village in Nandurbar last month. Five ministers, including the chief minister,
health, tribal welfare, social welfare and guardian ministers, rushed
to the district. Says Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh: "The issue
has just been brought to our notice and it is a matter of serious concern."
With approaching summer, the situation is set
to deteriorate. The worst hit will be the tribal children. Sarya Sama
Patle of Ghatli typifies the impending doom: the three-year-old's spindly
hands and legs and bulging stomach are typical of the plight of the innumerable
children. Patle was born underweight at less than 2 kg and never gained
weight because his mother Romabai is anaemic. Now he is battling post-measles
complications.
After initial reluctance, his parents admitted
him to the Dhadgoan Health Centre, an exhausting three-hour walk in scorching
sun. Leaving Patle at the local anganwadi-a crèche-10 km away,
to ensure he got supplementary diet was also tough. Even tougher for the
daily-wage couple is coping with the anxiety-not only about Patle's health
but also of feeding the three children back home.
Yet Romabai is luckier than her neighbours.
Last month, Sami Divlya Vanvi lost his three-year-old son Khotlya to dehydration.
Rajesh Vanvi, another neighbour, lost two of his three children due to
high fever within a couple of days. Says a bitter Rajesh: "We have
lived through droughts, disease and hunger that has claimed our children's
lives. Is there anything worse that can happen now?"
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