Nearly 100 infants in Madhya Pradesh’s tribal districts of Satna and Khandwa have been reported to have died in 2008, aggravated by malnutrition and hunger. More than 60% of MP’s children are malnourished according to the official National Health Survey conducted in 2006.
Although the govt officials attribute the deaths to disease and not starvation, lack of food evidently played a role in hastening their deaths. According to official statement hunger deaths refer more often to people dying on account of weakness and disease aggravated by lack of nutritious food.
Over 200 million people in India lack access to adequate food to meet their nutrition requirements. More than 50% of children in India are malnourished, 20% of them severely.