No malnutrition deaths in Khalwa: Mehdele

Bhopal, Sep 14 (UNI) Madhya Pradesh Women and Child Development Minister Kusum Mehdele has claimed that recent deaths of children in Khalwa block of Khandwa district were not due to severe malnutrition but other diseases.

Ms Mehdele termed as totally baseless and misleading news reports that appeared in a section of the press that the children have died of malnutrition, an official release said here.

She said the causes behind the deaths are being enquired into, while immediate effective steps were taken after reports of deaths of children in five villages of Khalwa block.

A team of the Women and Child Development Department, Health Department and UNICEF visited nine villages and conducted health check-up on the children and examined the level of their nutrition.

A total of 49 children found seriously ill have been admitted to Bal Shakti Kendra in Khandwa and Khalwa.

The deaths of children in the block have been found to be caused by Pneumonia, viral fever, diarrhoea and liver related diseases.

The staff of Women and Child Development and Health Departments is active in the affected areas and parents have been appealed to bring children to the hospital if affected by some disease.

The district administration has been directed to keep a constant watch in the area. Punishment has been given to sector supervisor of village Mojwadi Nirmala Karma and sector supervisor of village Karpahi Vidya Seetha for dereliction of duty.

Meetings of anganwadi workers and assistants of concerning areas are being held and arrangements being made for proper treatment of affected children.

A team of the district administration and doctors has been sent to the affected areas.

Anganwadi workers have been asked to persuade the parents that if their children are malnourished they should get them admitted to the nutrition and rehabilitation centre.

Ms Mehdele informed that malnutrition has been considerably controlled by conducting various phases of Bal Sanjivani Abhiyan for elimination of malnutrition.

The works done by the Women and Child Development Department in this direction have been praised by the centre and at other levels, the release added.

UNI PS 1046