Barnala, April 7: Barnala district reported the highest number of severe acute malnutrition (50) and severe anaemia cases (37) in Punjab, according to recent health screening data from the state government’s Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK).
The screening, conducted over 12 months ending January 2025, covered 13.3 lakh children aged 0 to 18 across government and aided schools and anganwadi centres. The initiative aims to detect early signs of birth defects, diseases, nutritional deficiencies and developmental delays.
Severe acute malnutrition, identified when a child’s weight is significantly low for their height, was absent in multiple districts including Faridkot, Fazilka, Fatehgarh Sahib, Gurdaspur, Malerkotla, Mansa, Muktsar, Patiala, Pathankot, Ropar, SBS Nagar, SAS Nagar and Tarn Taran.
Sangrur led in cases of ‘severe thinning’—a condition where a child is visibly underweight but not clinically malnourished—with 555 cases. Gurdaspur followed with 526, and Amritsar with 377.
In anaemia, Amritsar (14 cases) and Kapurthala (13) ranked behind Barnala. Ludhiana showed a sharp drop, recording only two cases between January 2024 and January 2025, compared to 107 cases between April and August 2023.
An RBSK official said families of affected children are advised to improve nutrition and are provided iron tablets. However, the official admitted, “We’re not sure if the children are actually consuming the supplements regularly.”
Dr Sukhjit Kaur, the RBSK nodal officer, mentioned that five nutrition rehabilitation centres have been set up—in Amritsar, Muktsar, Kapurthala, Bathinda and SBS Nagar—for managing acute malnutrition cases.
