A study published recently in the peer-reviewed JAMA Network Open journal found the prevalence of zero-food children in India at 19.3%, drawing attention to extreme food deprivation among children.
Zero-food children are the children (6–23 months old) who did not consume any animal milk, formula or solid or semisolid food during the last 24 hours.
The study ranks India as having the third-highest percentage of zero-food children, above only Guinea (21.8%) and Mali (20.5%).
In terms of numbers, India has the highest number of zero-food children at more than six million.
The States of Uttar Pradesh (28.4%), Bihar (14.2%), Maharashtra (7.1%), Rajasthan (6.5%), and Madhya Pradesh (6%) account for nearly two-thirds of the total zero-food children in India.