ANALYSIS OF THE NUTRITIONAL HEALTH CONSEQUENCES FOR INDIAN CHILDREN DURING DROUGHT

The major objective was to define the effect of drought on malnutritio n and morbidity in rural Indian children. A comparative data set colle cted in the year before the commencement of drought and after three ye ars of drought enabled the study of child nutrition and health status differences between drought and non-drought periods. Since the effect of drought is dependent on several factors, such as relief works provi ded by the government, socioeconomic status of the community, availabi lity of employment opportunities, and existing nutrition and health pr ograms, these factors during drought were also examined. In children, prevalence of current malnutrition (wt/ht, wt/age), vitamin A deficien cy and anemia were lower and that of chronic malnutrition (ht/age) and various morbidities were higher during the drought period than during the non-drought period. The differences could be mainly attributed to the varying efficiency of nutrition and health intervention programs.