Vulnerability and Childhood Malnutrition: Narratives from Tribal Households

Abstract

This chapter provides evidence on the nutritional outcomes of a particularly neglected group: tribal children in primary schools in the age group 5–12 years. Tribal children in this age group are highly vulnerable to nutritional deficit, and its impact on their physical and mental growth can be critical to their leading a full and productive life. We examine the food choices made by tribal communities in Karnataka and factors that contribute to these choices. Our data show that there has been a substantial decrease in the range of different categories of food being consumed, particularly by tribal communities. Using the personal accounts of mothers and grandmothers of their changing dietary choices, we paint a picture of what they ate when they were young and what they are eating now; what has sustained and what has been destroyed. It presents a wide range of factors that influence food choice such as changes in agricultural patterns, availability of food through public distribution systems, increase in cost of food, declining range of homemade foods, changes in consumption pattern, nature of employment, and the eco-system. The chapter argues that a multipronged approach is required to restore traditional food systems: interventions are needed at the policy, program, and household level to establish a comprehensive framework for nutritional support to those most at risk, provide an adequately diversified diet to fulfill nutritional needs and enable households to access a wholesome diet that respects their dietary traditions.