'Starvation Protocol' guidelines would help India's hunger problem

In the final article of a six-part series titled "Starving in India" in the Wall Street Journal's "India Real Time" blog, series author Ashwin Parulkar of the Centre for Equity Studies writes that the research conducted for the articles shows "that India needs a new legal framework for dealing with chronic hunger and starvation." He notes that "[t]he draft version of the National Food Security Bill that is being considered by India's Parliament would guarantee discounted food-grains to 50 percent of the urban population and 75 percent of the rural population." While "[m]uch of the debate on the measure has been over its cost and scope, ... my biggest problem with the bill is the way it deals with starvation," leaving it up to state governments to identify starving individuals and provide them with two meals a day for six months, Parulkar writes.

He says the legislation provides neither a definition of starvation nor a long-term solution to the problem. "One way to go about fixing these issues would be to employ the 'Starvation Protocol,' a set of guidelines recommended by the National Advisory Council, a group of experts and academics who advise the government on policy," Parulkar states and describes the protocol in detail. "The Protocol takes into account the complexity of India's hunger problem, including socio-economic inequalities and matters of public health," he writes, concluding, "It is time to tackle chronic hunger and starvation with vigor, to protect people's fundamental right to live with dignity instead of accepting that India's most vulnerable people may be condemned to die" (4/14).


http://www.kaiserhealthnews.orgThis article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Comments

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
Post a new comment
Post

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.

You might also like...
Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy