Covid-19 undoing decades of progress in reducing malnutrition among kids

Globally, a further 6,000 children under age 5 could die each day due to reduction in routine health coverage during the pandemic

A fistful of rice with sugar or salt is a standard meal for 10-year-old Asha Yadav these days. On better days, her mother adds some potatoes or dal (lentils) to her plate. A resident of eastern Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district--among the most backward and poorest in the state’s agricultural belt--Asha is among the 95.1 million children whom the lockdown has deprived of midday meals at school.

On school days, Asha would get at least one wholesome meal--rice, vegetables, milk and fruit--under the Indian government’s Midday Meal Scheme. Since March 24, 2020, school has been shut due to the