Hunger Strikes

Deaths due to Malnutrition amomg the lesser known Korku tribes of Madhya Pradesh seems to be an unending tragedy. Hudreds of children from Khalwa block of Khandwa district in Madhya Pradesh of India perish every year. It was Spandan a grass roots NGO: that has been striving for a decade now to draw government attention to this crude reality that acute chronic household hunger has been a major reason behind extensive malnutrition claiming lives of children below six years. As on the day nearly 15,000 kids across 147 villages reel under malnutrition while nearly 3000 kids face daeth being severely malnourished and diseased too.
Food insecurity of Korku tribe families has been worsening over a decade now. It is mainly as the government has reduced their share of subsidized grains by nearly 40% and the available grains hardly lasts for a week or so for an average family of five. As the wage earning options for the Korku families has not been adequate they are forced to migrate seasonally twice a year. Their small landholdings produce very little and since past two decades or so they have been growing soybean which is not eaten and sold to get cash.
The Korku plate has dwindling micronutrients. Their daily food pattern taht includes wheat flour ,rice or some veegtables like brinjal or wild beans or potatoes hardly has adequate for mother to be healthy or children to grow as productive adults.
The large number of child deaths has lowered their decadal population growth to 19.3% which is lower that the state and national level.
Unfortunately Korku were not considered a Primitive Tribal Group though they fit into the slot and so were bereaved of many benefits especially teh food benefits.