Aumenta a desnutrição na India.

A India foi aquele paraíso para onde iam os hippies nos anos 60 e, agora dizem ser o exemplo a ser seguido pelo Brasil devido ao aspas vigor da sua economia aspas. Abaixo, relato do The Lancet sobre o aumento da desnutrição em crianças na India, mesmo no locais mais afluentes. De forma simplificada, a India passa por um período de crescimento ao período 1966-79 quando os indicadores sociais - mortalidade infantil, p.ex - não estavam em paralelo com aqueles da economia. O acesso ao The Lancet necessita inscrição, mas esse texto é de acesso livre em http://www.thelancet.com. O texto chega afirmar que a situação é pior do que na Etiópia.

The growth of India's economy during the past decade has had little effect on the nutritional status of its youngest citizens. Even in affluent states, the percentage of underweight children younger than 3 years has risen over the past 10 years. Chandigarh, the joint capital of Haryana and Punjab—two of India's richest states—is an elegant city, with the highest yearly per head income in the country. The signs of affluence are everywhere: glitzy malls, luxury cars, and a high-spending middle class. But on the outskirts of this town, the underbelly of India's booming economy is clearly visible. Despite having an economy growing at nearly 10% a year, widespread malnutrition, and its associated health problems, such as anaemia, remain one of India's formidable challenges. In February this year, UNICEF officials created a stir by telling a gathering of national and international journalists in Delhi that an Indian child is more likely to be malnourished than a child in Ethiopia, the Horn of Africa nation known for its periodic droughts, famines, and long civil conflict and border war with Eritrea. The comment stemmed from India's 2005-06 National Family Health Survey (NFHS), which reveals that almost half of Indian children younger than 3 years are underweight. The results show that the malnutrition crisis is not confined to migrants huddled in urban shanties.. Anaemia and undernutrition in small children and pregnant women in their prime is growing, even in India's prosperous states like Haryana.
Life in Dundahera village in the Gurgaon district of Haryana, offers a glimpse of perhaps why economic boom is not translating into better maternal and child health in India. In recent years, Gurgaon has emerged as one of India's hottest outsourcing hubs. Shopping centres, multinational companies, and industrial complexes dot the cityscape. Eager to tap the emerging commercial opportunities, Dunadhera's farmers are selling their land to builders. New houses have been built to accommodate the growing number of migrant families streaming into the area to fuel the economic boom. Many families who have sold their land have suddenly become rich. But within the family and this highly patriarchal society, the status of women has scarcely improved.