Severe malnutrition in India is between 4.1 and 8.3 per cent according to the country’s National Family Health Survey (2006). This means there are around eight million severely malnourished children across the country, of which around 7,00,000 are in Bihar State.
MSF established a healthcare programme in Biraul, a block of 3,00,000 people in Darbhanga district of Bihar, for malnourished children. Since four years, they have treated more than 12,000 severely malnourished children under the age of five. Also run a ‘stabilisation’ centre where critically ill children, suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) with complications, can be admitted for round-the-clock observation.
