- 期刊
Poverty and the State of Nutrition in India
印度的貧窮與營養狀況
摘要
印度在過去幾年有相當高的經濟成長率，但在平均餘命、教育及生活水平方面的進展卻較緩慢，故常被視為發展的矛盾。雖然成長、發展及機會的嚴重不平等解釋了國家層次的矛盾假象，印度的貧困人口及營養不良兒童仍佔世界的一大部分。貧窮與營養不足共存，貧乏的飲食品質與不良的孩童生長及主要的微量營養素缺乏攸關。糧食安全特別容易受到經濟狀況及財富分配不均而改變。從鄉村移居到都市區域者，大多數找不到正式工作，因此造成移居者繼續生活在糧食不安全的狀態。雖然糧食生產大部分跟得上日益增加的人口數，但那是指穀類，豆類及小米生產卻不盡然。含油種子類、甘蔗及蔬果作物，及非食用作物也被推廣，但這對營養保障並無多大助益。且由於預製食品的消費增加，可能朝向營養不良的雙頭負擔。貧窮及不平等對於食物的可近性也深具影響。很多措施及政策已被提出，以解決印度的營養不足，但是它們的執行卻沒有一致性，要評估它們有規模的持續效應仍為時太早。
並列摘要
India is often thought of as a development paradox with relatively high economic growth rates in the past few years, but with lower progress in areas of life expectancy, education and standard of living. While serious inequalities in growth, development and opportunity explain the illusion of the paradox at the country level, still, a significant proportion of the world's poor live in India, as do a significant proportion of the world's malnourished children. Poverty and undernutrition coexist, and poor dietary quality is associated with poor childhood growth, as well as significant micronutrient deficiencies. Food security is particularly vulnerable to changes in the economic scenario and to inequities in wealth distribution. Migration from rural to urban settings with a large informal employment sector also ensures that migrants continue to live in food insecure situations. While food production has for the most part kept pace with the increasing population, it has been with regard to cereal rather than of pulses and millet production. Oil seeds, sugar cane and horticultural crops, along with non-food crops are also being promoted, which do not address nutrition security, and, coupled with the increase in the consumption of preprepared food, may indeed predispose towards the double burden of malnutrition. Access to food is also particularly susceptible to poverty and inequality. Many strategies and policies have been proposed to counter undernutrition in India, but their implementation has not been uniform, and it is still too early to assess their lasting impact at scale.