INDIA: Twenty-eight tribal children in two villages have died of malnutrition in the last three months in Madhya Pradesh

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CASE DETAILS:

Shama, a four-year-old boy, died of malnutrition with the associated symptom of diarrhea on 23 December 2009. Shama belonging to the Bhil tribe and lived in Madrani village, Meghnagar Block, Jhabua District. His father Galia took him to the Anganwadi Centre (AWC; child care centre at village level) where he was not able to get any assistance; they were ignored. Even when the human rights activist assisting the villagers informed the AWC on 9 November that Shama’s health condition had severely deteriorated, no action was taken by the authorities. Shama was neither registered at the AWC nor given any support from the government facilities, and died as a result.

In the past three months (October to December 2009) there twenty more children have reportedly died in similar circumstances in the village, with seven dying of malnutrition in Agasiya village, located in the same Block (please refer to the list of the deceased children in letter below). The field report proves the implementation failure of government programmes to ensure the rights to food and health in tribal villages.

Galia and his brother Bhur Singh cultivate four acres of farmland, from which they harvested just four bags of maize in 2009 – insufficient for a family of nine, which includes his wife, brother and six children. He can only cultivate maize according to rainfall as he has no irrigation system or other agricultural facilities.

“Without the Below the Poverty Line (BPL) card, we have to buy maize and wheat from the open market at 200 rupees and 300 rupees per quintal each. Accordingly we are forced to migrate to other area seeking any kind of labour work.” Galia has reported.

The living conditions of other tribal villagers are not dissimilar to Galia’s. Most of the Bhil tribe in Jhabua District have small scale farms, and up to 92% of the land lacks irrigation systems and other agricultural facilities. Irrespective of the facility or output from the farms, many villagers that hold land are identified as Above the Poverty Line (APL), denying them access to food subsidies or other relevant programmes for food and health security. In addition, farmland is often cultivated as a joint family venture like Galia’s family, while they actually live separately.

Despite this lack of facilities and the soaring food prices since 2008, the relevant authority has not paid attention to agriculture and therefore has not ensured food security. The children are dying of hunger while the government neglects its duty, despite several interventions and appeals from civil society.

At present, according to AWC data, 25 children are identified as suffering from grade II malnutrition while five children are grade III in Agasiya village. However only one child out of them was referred to the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) for treatment. In Madrani village 26 children are identified as grade II while three children are in grade III, and one child is identified as grade IV malnutrition. Grade III and IV belong to the Severely Acute Malnutrition (SAM). This data does not cover unregistered children.

Food insecurity and migration

Approximately 45.5% of the children in Jhabua are recorded as belonging to a BPL family. Under the Public Food Distribution System (PDS), BPL families are entitled to collect 35 kilograms of rice and wheat at subsidized prices. In practice they only get 16 kilograms of wheat. The families can only afford to buy two kilograms of sugar during the Holi and Dewali festival from the ration shop. As a result insufficient harvests and such a meager wheat subsidy contribute to child malnutrition, which is further aggravated by the migrant labour environment. Out of the 28 deceased children 5 fathers had migrated away when their children died in their home villages, whereas two children (Sivan and Bundi) died in Kota after the families had migrated together.

“We spent 4500 rupees for Bundi’s treatment in Kota. After all, we sent Bundi back to our village for which we spent another 7000 rupees,” Bundi’s grandfather has said. Bundi’s family took a loan from the contractor for whom they worked, and Bundi’s father now works as a bonded labourer until he can pay back the debt.

Right to work

One of the key elements of programmes ensuring the right to food is the supplying of employment. The government promise of 100 days of employment under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is not grounded in reality or practice. In both Agasiya and Madrani villages, villagers holding job cards got a maximum of 15 to 20 days employment in 2009. Furthermore villagers who worked for 10 to 15 days under the NREGA programme in October 2009 have still not been paid; it has been reported that the head of Agasiya village has kept their job cards, while not distributing their wages.

The lack of food and the failure of government programmes to be fully implemented have forced people to migrate. The social audit to monitor the implementation of programmes, which is carried out with the villagers' participation, often malfunctions due to lack of its publicity in the tribal community. As a result the social audit reports (No.172100324, 172100311 dated 20 August 2009) stated that no problems were reported in the two villages, which does not reflect the real situation. Please see more on the malfunctioning of the social audit in Jabalpur district, which was reported in a previous hunger alert; INDIA: Government's neglect and corruption drives a 30 year-old Dalit woman to death through starvation.

Child health care

The deceased children were completely deprived of health security by being excluded from the public health system. Of the 28 children, 17 were not registered at AWC, which is the most primary public health institute at village level. However even the children who were registered have never been provided with public health care such as supplementary food grain and immunization, which is a duty of the AWC.

There is one AWC in Agasiya village comprising 359 households, while there are two AWCs in Madrani village comprising of 716 (as of Jan 2009). The only AWC in Agasiya village is located in a Hindu upper caste community area which is far away from other communities who find it difficult to access. Eighty out of 150 children in total in the village are not registered in the AWC. It is commonly seen in other villages that the government data excludes a number of unregistered children. Please refer to previous hunger alert; INDIA: 22 children died of malnutrition associated with diseases for past two months in Sidhi district, Madhya Pradesh.

Even those registered among the deceased children have not received public health care – since workers and other relevant officials never visited those tribal children. As a result, although the deceased children suffered from malnutrition and other sicknesses such as fever, vomiting, and diarrhea, public servants, as duty bearers, failed to respect their right to life.

The failure of public health care creates a financial burden for families and extends their bonded labour, as with Bundi’s father Jalu (see above).

In another case Arjun, who is two months old, fell sick and began to spit up milk. Binnu, his father took him to the hospital where they were not provided with any medicine. Binnu then spent about 1000 rupees for medicine and 200 rupees for transportation, and had to pay 50-100 rupees for the consultation fee, since children there are completely excluded from public health care.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Jhabua District is located in the far west of Madhya Pradesh, adjacent to Rajasthan. The majority of people are from the Bhil tribe - comprising 86% of the total population in the district. Communities within the villages are widely scattered, which creates more difficulty for poor villagers to access available government facilities.

According to the field report, 93.9 % of the total population lives in rural areas and 87.6% of the urban population lives in poverty. Only 4.5% of the rural population has access to toilet facilities while 1.5% take water from a pipe. Merely 19.4% of the children between 12 to 23 months are fully immunized while 14.6 % of the children between 9 to 35 months have received one dose of vitamin A. These poor facilities and conditions are reflected in the fact that the government recognizes that more than 40% of the children are malnourished in this area.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write a letter to express your concern and grief about the needless deaths of these children, and regarding the danger faced by those currently suffering from malnutrition in Jhabua.

The AHRC has also written a separate letter to the Chief Justice of India, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food and the Committee on the Rights of the Child calling for their intervention.

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SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

Re: INDIA: 28 tribal children died of malnutrition for last three months in two villages

Names of children who died of malnutrition:
1. Arjun (two months old), son of Binnu Agasiya, died in November 2009
2. Vijesh (five years old), son of Kalsingh Ninama, died in November 2009
3. Usha (four years old), daughter of Rajesh Damore, died in November 2009
4. Bhura (two years old), son of Jhajhira, died in November 2009
5. Tura (five years old), son of Kanu Bhuriya, died in November 2009
6. Rakha Badiya (two years old), daughter of Bhura, died in November 2009
7. Musula (six years old), son of Jogi Ninama, died in October 2009
(above children lived in Agasiya village, Meghnagar Block, Jhabua District, Madhya Pradesh)
8. Shama (four years old), son of Galia, died on 23 December 2009
9. Ravi (three years old), son of bhur Singh, died on 17 December 2009
10. Pinka (three years old), daughter of Dilip Advasi, died in November 2009
11. Rinku (three years old), daughter of Siska, died on 24 November 2009
12. Bundi (five years old), daughter of Jalu, died on 22 November 2009
13. Rahul (four years old), son of Sakariya, died on 5 December 2009
14. Sunil (three years old), son of Sunder, died on 24 November 2009
15. Sivan (one year old), son of Ganiya, died on 10 December 2009
16. Santosh (four years old), son of Bunda, died in November 2009
17. Radhika (six months old), daughter of Dinesh, died in November 2009
18. Karan (one year old), son of Thavariya Damore, died in November 2009
19. Manish (one year old), son of Kanji Katara, died in November 2009
20. Puppa (three years old), daughter of Rewa Vasuniya, died in November 2009
21. Munga (six years old), daughter of Navalsingh, died in November 2009
22. Mukesh (one year old), son of Balu Vasuniya, died in November 2009
23. Ramli (three years old), daughter of Ramesh Mavi, died in October 2009
24. Basudi (three years old), daughter of Basu Mavi, died in October 2009
25. Gava (two years old), son of Jala Fatiya, died in November 2009
26. Minakshi (two years old), daughter of Bhumal, died on 5 November 2009
27. Guddi (six months old), daughter of Kamlesh, died on 22 December 2009
28. Vijay (one and six months old), son of Lula Vasuniya, died in November 2009
(all the above children lived in Madrani village, Meghnagar Block, Jhabua District, Madhya Pradesh)
Names of villages: Agasiya and Madrani villages, Meghnagar Block, Jhabua District, Madhya Pradesh

I am writing to express my deep grief and concern regarding the 28 tribal children who died of malnutrition and its associated symptoms such as fever and diarrhoea, between October and December 2009. I am extremely concerned that no action has been taken by the authorities to help other children in the area who currently suffer from similar symptoms.

This case in Jhabua district is the third one in which the starving deaths of a group of children have been ignored by the government authorities. The other cases, in the Rewa and Shidi districts in Madhya Pradesh, were recently reported by the Asian Human Rights Commission.

I am surprised to learn the extent to which the relevant authorities have failed to perform their duties, and have excluded vulnerable tribal communities. I am aware that other children in this tribe-dominated area live in similar circumstances as the deceased children. Furthermore it is seen in this case that even after the relevant public servants were informed of the children’s health conditions, no officials showed concern or took action to save their lives. I am informed that still nothing has been improved in these villages.

According to a field report by the Madhya Pradesh Lok Sanghash Sajha Manch and the Right to Food Campaign Madhya Pradesh, more than 80 percent of the total population in the villages of Agasiya and Madrani live below the poverty line (BPL). This is reflected in the fact that a number of the villagers are forced to migrate to neighbouring areas every year due to the lack of food at home.

The family of one of the deceased children – Shama, four years old – were able to harvest just four bags of maize per year, and had to migrate to other areas. The family was categorized as Above the Poverty Line (APL) due to their four acres of farmland. Yet neither agricultural facilities such as an irrigation system, nor assistance to improve their output have ensured any kind of food insecurity for them or other villagers in their situation. As a result, children are more at risk of health and food insecurity during migration. Another deceased child, Bundi, died of malnutrition and other sickness associated in a migrated area. Her family had spent 11500 rupees for her treatment and transportation, but were left with nothing bud a debt which her father must now work off. I am of the opinion that this vicious cycle of poverty must be tackled by the authorities immediately.

I am further informed that all these children were deprived of public health care. 17 out of 28 children were not even registered and the report discovered that about 50% of total children in two villages are not registered. These children have not received primary health care such as immunization and supplementary food grain – and even the registered children are not reportedly provided with such care. I am surprised to learn that Shama was refused treatment when his father, a human rights defender, asked help for his deteriorating condition.

It is reported that the villagers identified as the Below the Poverty Line (BPL) can only afford to collect 16 kilograms of wheat; this is much less than the earmarked 35 kilograms of rice and wheat by the government under the programme. In addition, only 15-20 days of 100 days-employment for the poor are being dispensed to the job card holders. I am told that they have not been paid for these days due to corruption. This failure of the government programmes creates patterns of negligence and corruption in the government sector.

The children’s malnutrition, sickness and deaths in Rewa, Shidi and Jhabua districts clearly illustrates the government’s sound failure to respect, protect and fulfil of the right to food, which is a fundamental right in India.

I have learned from this case that the government of India is a state party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the duty bearer of United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goal 2015 to eradicate child malnutrition and poverty. I am also aware that despite India's economic growth every year, the number of child malnutrition and mortality has not been reduced for decades.

I look forward to your prompt and substantial response and action, before more children face the same fate.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Krishna Tirath
Minister of Women and Child Development
Government of India
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 2331 4788
E-mail: krishnatirath@yahoo.in

2. Principal Secretary
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
Nirman Bhavan
Maulana Azad Road
New Delhi - 110011
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 2306 1751
E-mail: hfm@alpha.nic.in

3. Alka Sirohi
Secretary
Department of Food and Public Distribution
Government of India
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 2338 6052
E-mail: secy-food@nic.in

4. Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Chief Minister
Madhya Pradesh
INDIA
Fax: +91 755 2441781

5. R. C. Sahni
Chief Secretary
Government of Madhya Pradesh
Mantralaya
Bhopal 462 004
Madhya Pradesh
INDIA
Fax: +91 755 2441751
E-mail: cs@vallabh.mp.nic.in

6. District Collector
Office of the District Collector
Jhabua District
Madhya Pradesh, India
Fax: +91 7392 243 330
E-mail: dmjhabua@mp.nic.in

7. Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi 110001
INDIA
Fax + 91 11 2338 6521
E-mail: chairnhrc@nic.in

8. Mrs. Shantha Sinha
Chairperson
National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)
5th Floor, Chnadralok Building, Janpath,
New Delhi
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23731584
E-mail: ncpcr.india@gmail.com / shantha.sinha@nic.in

9. UNICEF
73 Lodi Estates
New Delhi 110 003
INDIA
Fax: + 91 11 2462 7521 / 11 2469 1410
E-mail: newdelhi@unicef.org

10. Mr. He ChangChui
Regional Representative
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Maliwan Mansion
Phra Atit Road
Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Fax: +66 2 697 4445
Email: FAO-RAP@fao.org

Thank you.

Hunger Alert Programme (foodjustice@ahrc.asia)
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)