The Government today said the prevalence of malnutrition among tribal children in India has shown a declining trend. Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said this in a written reply in Lok Sabha. According to a recent report of the National Family Health Survey 5, the prevalence of stunting has reduced to 40.9 percent in 2019-20 as compared to 43.8 per cent in 2014-15. The prevalence of wasting has also reduced to 23.2 percent from 27.4 percent. The percentage of underweight children has come down to 39.5 percent from 45.3 per cent in the time period.
 
The Minister said the Government has accorded high priority to the issue of malnutrition and is implementing several schemes to tackle the challenge. She further informed that her Ministry is implementing various schemes like POSHAN Abhiyaan and scheme for Adolescent Girls under Mission Poshan 2.0 among others. POSHAN Abhiyaan is a mission mode approach towards malnutrition through interventions of technology, multi-ministerial convergence and community involvement. It is a targeted approach that strives to reduce the level of stunning, under-nutrition, Anemia and low birth weight in children as well as adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers.