Stunted Futures: Malnutrition in Rural Karnataka

By Mariya Rajan

June 14, 2025

Kavitha, a mother in Raichur district, doesn’t follow the nutrition charts or growth tracking numbers. What she understands is hunger. The rice from the public distribution shop lasts less than a week. On some nights, there’s nothing but water and silence. For families like hers, malnutrition isn’t just a report—it’s dinner time. In Raichur, all women aged 15–49 are anaemic at a rate of about 57%, combining both pregnant and non‑pregnant groups, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5). Among children under five, 36.8% are stunted, 31.3% are underweight and 21.6% are wasted—figures that point to persistent, long-term nutritional deprivation.

These rates are significantly higher than the state average, around 50%, and aligns closely with rates reported from other aspirational districts.

In January, close to 3,000 women staged an indefinite protest at the district sports complex under the banner of the Joint Action Committee of Progressive Organisations (PS-JAC), demanding improved infrastructure in schools and adequate nutrition for children, according to Deccan Herald. Organisers said over 20,000 women across Karnataka had lent support to the campaign.

In Lingsugur and neighbouring blocks, the disconnect between policy and daily survival is sharp. The state runs mid-day meal schemes and Anganwadis under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), and on paper, these services cover large swathes of the rural population. But access is inconsistent, supply chains are weak and monitoring often ends with the paperwork. Anganwadi workers are frequently overburdened and underpaid, and in many areas, vacancies go unfilled for months.

For mothers like Kavitha, the safety net is full of holes. She has learned to stretch what little food is available. But in a place where protein is a luxury and vegetables come only when there’s cash in hand, no amount of caution is enough.

In Lingsugur, families are stuck in a daily loop of scarcity. They eat when they can. They compromise when they must. For them, nutrition is a hope they quietly chase—one ration card, one school meal, one day at a time.