Today malnutrition is an epidemic that affects people in every corner of the world. Predominantly found in third world countries, malnutrition prevents nations struggling to evolve from making progress. India is one of the developing countries that struggle greatly with the issue of malnutrition amongst its population, especially amongst the children.
There are 400 million children residing in India, and of this staggering figure every second child is malnourished.
Malnutrition in children primarily occurs as result of poverty and illiteracy. Parents who have never had the opportunity to attend school find it difficult to maintain regular, reliable jobs to keep their family financially secure. Without access to enough money to even provide for the family’s basic nutritional needs, children grow up malnourished themselves. They in turn have to take up child labour to support the family at the cost of their education, and the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and malnutrition continues.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation works to combat malnutrition and illiteracy in children through their mid-day meal programme. By providing children with nutritious, tasty food in sufficient quantities, Akshaya Patra has succeeded in bringing children back to school, and improving their health in one move.
Studies of the Akshaya Patra mid-day meal have shown that by regular access to the healthy meals children have shown better concentration and academic progress, increased school enrollment and attendance, better nutrition status and reduced school drop-out rates.
It is important for every able person to lend their time, attention and resources to stop this cycle of poverty and malnutrition plaguing the innocent children of India. To help The Akshaya Patra Foundation provide food for education and eliminate classroom hunger, click to donate online.
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