Sharp rise in malnourished kids, 1000-1500 dying every day: UNICEF official

By A Representative
A senior UNICEF official has regretted that the children below six have not been at the centre of any announcements for relief following the March 25 lockdown, claiming, as a result of the closure of anganwadi services, there a sharp rise in malnourished and undernourished children, with a whopping 1,000-1,500 dying every day.
Expressing concern at a webinar in Delhi organized by the Right to Education (RTE) Forum, Sushina Ahuha, who is education specialist on early childhood and care with UNICEF, advised the government to “immediately initiate the work of vaccination, growth monitoring should be started, only then it will be appropriate to start the process of learning and teaching. ”
Participants in a webinar, even as focusing on the rights and challenges of children below six, pointed out said that in the current “era of online education, basic problems like network, mobile charge, data packs and unavailability of mobile sets have excluded vast population from the realm of education.”
Those took part in the web-conversation included Vinita Kaul, professor-emeritus, Ambedkar University, Delhi; Prof Rekha Sharma Sen, Indira Gandhi National Open University; Sumitra Mishra, convener, Alliance for Right to Early Childhood Development; and Ambarish Rai, and convener, RTE Forum.

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