Carlin Carr, Mumbai Community Manager
Mumbai’s bursting-at-the-seam population growth is often all too easily explained: rural migrants come to the big city because “no one goes hungry here.” The land-starved peninsula presents many other challenges, but food is everywhere: markets overflowing with vegetables are interspersed with street food vendors, who often sell their snacks for pennies. While access to food is less of an issue than in rural areas, affordable, nutritious food for the city’s most vulnerable communities remains elusive.
A forthcoming study by Rachel D’Silva, a researcher at the Observer Research Foundation in Mumbai, looks at food access and nutrition for children both in an unstructured and a structured slum. The results are startling, but the issue is solvable. D’Silva presents key target areas for intervention by government and civil society.
What does your study tell us about the prevalence of malnutrition in Mumbai?
The study found a higher and more severe prevalence of under-nutrition among children from the unstructured slum sample. This population represents slums that are unregistered and may not have access to water supply, sanitation, and permanent shelter structures. While these barriers may be responsible for their exclusion and deprivation at various levels, they are also potential entry points for effective interventions.
What has been most surprising about your findings?
I was surprised to find children having distended abdomens — about 32 percent among unstructured slum samples — an occurrence that I had never expected to find in the city. A number of clinical findings surprised me, including the high rate of morbid conditions such as poor appetite, pain in limbs, and skin infections seen among children of the study population. Families and children also reported having to face food shortages on certain days that I found hard to believe.
What is unique about urban malnutrition vs. rural?
I have very limited understanding of rural under-nutrition in children as my understanding is only based on secondary reading. But one thing that is clear is that in urban areas, people have to depend purely on food available at market price in the absence of strong social safety nets like public distribution system (PDS) or food from agricultural produce.
It’s a complex issue, but can you identify three to four root causes?
Chronic poverty is the overarching cause. Along with this, women and growing children have inadequate diets lacking in nutrition. Personal hygiene and environmental conditions contribute as well.
What are some immediate steps that can be taken to improve food access for families in need? What are some longer-term strategies?
One immediate step to improve food access is to ensure quality midday meals for all school-going children. Another focus area is to strengthen food charity networks, both religious and others in the city. Pulses (legumes) can be given through PDS, since grain alone does not ensure adequate nutrition.
Long-term strategies can focus on improving not just access to food but also access to water supply, sanitation, coverage of health services that will lead to nutrition security.
Photo credit: Rachel D’Silva