Food security & under-nourishment of persons with disabilities in India

Having and maintaining good food security is fundamental for achieving well-being for all, particularly for persons with disabilities who tend to often have specialize nourishment needs. Yet, food security and under-nourishment remains a prevalent issue to be substantially addressed, not only in India, but also across the world.

“in developed countries, the average percentage of persons with disabilities who are unable to afford a meal with protein every second day is almost double that of persons without disabilities. More women with disabilities than men with disabilities are in such a situation, and the gender gap between women and men in terms of access to meals with protein is wider among persons with disabilities. In developing countries, data shows that persons with disabilities and their households are more likely to not always have food to eat, than persons without disabilities and their households”[i].

India has a dearth of data nor any tracking mechanism to monitor the prevalence of undernourishment and prevalence of food insecurity for people with disabilities. The National Food Security Act, 2013 provides food security for all, however, “the department confirmed that it does not maintain any disaggregated data for people or households with disabilities”[ii]. Similarly, while the NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index is tracking the coverage of households covered in the Public Distribution Scheme, here too there is no way to identify the disabled beneficiaries. To ensure that no disabled is left behind in the various schemes providing food security and nutrition, it is important to create a robust mechanism to collect, capture and disaggregate data for disabled beneficiaries and further disaggregate data for women and children with disabilities.

The India’s Nutrition program do not have any provision to understand and provide additional food supplements for people with disabilities or rare medical conditions. Some persons with disabilities (including children with disabilities) may need additional nutrients to cope with the health problems associated with their disability. For example, a person with a physical disability may be prone to pressure sores caused by immobility or poor nursing which can become seriously infected. A high-quality diet is needed for prompt healing and to control infection. Poor families may struggle to meet these increased nutritional needs or lack ready access to the necessary dietary supplements.

As disability is considered as a specialist subject and therefore not mainstreamed into awareness for practitioners in nutrition, health, and child development. It is important to ensure that pre- and in-service training of professionals in healthcare, nutrition, and development on the links between disability nutrition. This would increase awareness of the specific nutrition requirements of children and adults with disabilities and expand more inclusive programmes and practice.

Another major aspect related to food security, which is not being considered for people with disabilities is the inaccessibility or difficulty in accessing the ration shops, subsidised canteens, or relief camps. Most of these distribution centres do not have any accessibility features such as ramps, signages, etc. In addition, there is no provision for providing door-step food delivery for households with a disabled people.

Time and again, leaders from the disability sector has also highlighted, that people with disabilities do not get benefitted or are excluded from food related schemes. For example, the mid-day meal, which is available to all children going to school, does not reach many children with disabilities who are not either attending school or are in home-based programmes.

As government decides to reform and scale up nutrition efforts, the needs of children and adults with disabilities must be integrated to ensure that they are offered the same life-saving interventions as other children.