More than half of Delhi lives in slums, study shows
66% of children under six are malnourished
New Delhi: More than half of Delhi's population lives in urban slums with inadequate provision of basic services, a study released here said.
Further, 66 per cent of children under the age of six in these slums are undernourished.
According to the study, titled A Situational Analysis of the Young Child in India, 52 per cent of Delhi's population resides in urban slums.
The survey, conducted in 4,600 households in six slums in Delhi by Forces, a voluntary organisation working on child care services in India, shows that in comparison to Delhi's infant mortality rate (IMR) of 40, the IMR in slums is higher at 54 for every 1,000 live births.
The study reveals that 66 per cent children under the age of six in these slums are undernourished.
Mridula Bajaj, convenor of Forces said: "Water and sanitation emerged as critical issues in this study, with 57 per cent of families using open spaces for toilets."
The immunisation level in the slums covers a dismal 34 per cent of the population and because of the negligence of civic authorities in providing safe drinking water and sanitation, there is a high incidence of diseases such as diarrhoea (75 per cent) and anaemia (63 per cent).
"The nutritional status of the urban poor in Delhi is a matter of concern. Delhi has 35.4 per cent stunted, 15.5 per cent wasted and 33.1 per cent underweight children under the age of three, despite being a state with the second highest per capita income in India," the report said. It goes on to say that 31 per cent of Delhi's slum dwellers have no sanitation.
