16-10-2021, 10:48 AM
By Suchitra
13 Oct 2021
Kalahandi, India – On September 3, Ranjita Majhi, a 33-year-old Kui speaking Khond woman in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, gave birth to a baby boy.
She was elated as she had taken a 30,000 rupees (US$400) loan for the delivery. Since she was severely anaemic, her health complications prevented a normal delivery.
As a result, Majhi had to travel 60km (37 miles) to a government hospital in Bhawanipatna district, where she had a caesarean section.
All was well in the Majhi household for four days. But then the child died.
......
Bhawanipatna’s district hospital doctors claim they also do not know how the child died.
But activist Roshnara Mohanty from Ekta Parishad NGO hints at malnutrition.
......
In 2020, India’s COVID-19 lockdown resulted in a tremendous collapse of livelihoods, causing an epidemic that India has been trying to fight off for decades: hunger.
......
50 percent of the households in rural India were forced to reduce the number of meals ever since the lockdown was imposed
......
Nisha, 30, who goes by her first name only, tells a similar story as her anaemia worsened in the last two years.
“I could not go to a doctor in the last few months even though I have an unbearable pain in my ribs – because I have no money. Only social workers have gotten us some help, we did not get any other ration,” she told Al Jazeera.
Nisha is a Dalit, a marginalised community that falls at the bottom of India’s complex caste hierarchy.
......
“Dalit and Adivasi women die younger than dominant-caste women, and nutrition and health have always been a struggle for Dalit-Adivasi women. You throw in the livelihood crisis and the hunger crisis during the pandemic, and the effects suffered by marginalised women would be manifold,” she told Al Jazeera.
Studies show 56 percent Dalit and 59 percent tribal women are anaemic, while the national average is 53 percent. In 2016, India ranked 170 out of 180 countries where women suffer from anaemia. Dalit women die 15 years younger than the dominant-caste women, a United Nations study (PDF) says.
......
Rajendran Narayan of the Stranded Workers Action Network and Hunger Watch says job losses have been disproportionate for women even in the informal sector.
“The caregiving and domestic work have also increased back home for them. Workload for them has increased but pay has decreased. Within homes, women are the last to eat and have the least to eat. A hunger crisis at home means women will automatically have less to eat,” he said, adding that the situation is particularly severe for pregnant and lactating women.
Much better to read full report at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/1...s-pandemic
13 Oct 2021
Kalahandi, India – On September 3, Ranjita Majhi, a 33-year-old Kui speaking Khond woman in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, gave birth to a baby boy.
She was elated as she had taken a 30,000 rupees (US$400) loan for the delivery. Since she was severely anaemic, her health complications prevented a normal delivery.
As a result, Majhi had to travel 60km (37 miles) to a government hospital in Bhawanipatna district, where she had a caesarean section.
All was well in the Majhi household for four days. But then the child died.
......
Bhawanipatna’s district hospital doctors claim they also do not know how the child died.
But activist Roshnara Mohanty from Ekta Parishad NGO hints at malnutrition.
......
In 2020, India’s COVID-19 lockdown resulted in a tremendous collapse of livelihoods, causing an epidemic that India has been trying to fight off for decades: hunger.
......
50 percent of the households in rural India were forced to reduce the number of meals ever since the lockdown was imposed
......
Nisha, 30, who goes by her first name only, tells a similar story as her anaemia worsened in the last two years.
“I could not go to a doctor in the last few months even though I have an unbearable pain in my ribs – because I have no money. Only social workers have gotten us some help, we did not get any other ration,” she told Al Jazeera.
Nisha is a Dalit, a marginalised community that falls at the bottom of India’s complex caste hierarchy.
......
“Dalit and Adivasi women die younger than dominant-caste women, and nutrition and health have always been a struggle for Dalit-Adivasi women. You throw in the livelihood crisis and the hunger crisis during the pandemic, and the effects suffered by marginalised women would be manifold,” she told Al Jazeera.
Studies show 56 percent Dalit and 59 percent tribal women are anaemic, while the national average is 53 percent. In 2016, India ranked 170 out of 180 countries where women suffer from anaemia. Dalit women die 15 years younger than the dominant-caste women, a United Nations study (PDF) says.
......
Rajendran Narayan of the Stranded Workers Action Network and Hunger Watch says job losses have been disproportionate for women even in the informal sector.
“The caregiving and domestic work have also increased back home for them. Workload for them has increased but pay has decreased. Within homes, women are the last to eat and have the least to eat. A hunger crisis at home means women will automatically have less to eat,” he said, adding that the situation is particularly severe for pregnant and lactating women.
Much better to read full report at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/1...s-pandemic