India's contrast

By Ben, EVERY ONE campaign director 

Photo: Raghu Rai for Magnum/Save the Children

India has seen vast economic growth over the last ten years but remains home to one-third of the world's undernourished children. The Prime Minister has called it “a curse” that must be tackled. Even in the nation’s capital, Delhi, you do not need to go far to see what needs to be done. I was in the Sanjay Colony Cluster in North West Delhi, an hour from the centre of the fastest growing city in the world, where people live hand to mouth on the city’s open rubbish tip. People from all over India have moved to Delhi with hopes of a better life but thousands of people are in this cluster with no sanitation or health facilities. The conditions here are shocking and I am relieved that the monsoon season is now over because when it pours with rain the water bubbles up with sewage and flows through people’s homes.

The infant mortality rate in Delhi has doubled in the last two years, according to some reports. Malaria is common and many children suffer from gastro intestinal infections. Save the Children is helping by running a life saving mobile health clinic. The clinic travels to a different location every day including the rubbish tips where the rag pickers rummage through Delhi’s leftovers for any scrap to sell. It is an eerie sight, children and adults rummaging through the mountain of rubbish with large black crows circling overhead.

It is here that you can meet mums like Soni (age 22), Roma Devi (30) and Rita (25). They are trying to raise a family as their husbands work as contract labourers. Rita arrived in Delhi nearly 3 years after her husband. He earns 3000 Rs a month (62 US $) in a tyremaking factory. It is still not enough. Rita says most of what her husband earns is spent on food leaving nothing for any sudden medical bills or financial shocks. Her daughter who is three years old is clearly malnourished.

There is a new report out called ‘Lifting the Curse’ that includes work by more than 20 Indian analysts. The report calls India an "economic powerhouse but a nutritional weakling" where "at least 46% of children up to the age of 3 still suffer from malnutrition." This thought has stuck in my mind as I have been working in this diverse and challenging country and visiting areas like Sanjay Colony Cluster.

In parts of Delhi, the mega city, you can often feel at the forefront of the economic rat race, while in other areas like Rita’s house you witness the very bottom of the ladder. 

After visiting Sanjay Colony Cluster I was in Mumbai chatting to one of the most respected Indian filmmakers who is now supporting our campaign. He was clear when he said “we have malnutrition because people do not want to share their food”. It is a challenging thought for India with all the growth but also for individuals and governments around the world.