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Herself, and her child—who is worse off? Impact of COVID-19 on dietary practices and welfare of mothers and children in rural Bihar

Zakir Husain, Presidency University
Saswata Ghosh, Institute of Development Studies Kolkata (IDSK)
Mousumi Dutta, Presidency University

The paper examines the impact of the lockdown to contain COVID-19 on dietary practices of women and their youngest child in rural Bihar. The outbreak of COVID-19, and the national level lockdown to contain it, was expected to cause a food shortage. Studies in India predicted a near famine-like situation. The study examines the change in dietary score (number of food groups consumed) and proportion of respondents complying with Minimum Dietary Diversity norms (consuming at least three food groups) among women aged 15-49 years and their youngest child (aged between 6-36 months). We also examine whether ownership of ration cards and contacts with the village head and local party in power helped the household to tide over the crisis. The study is based on a two-phase primary survey undertaken in January-March 2020 and October-November 2020. Dietary practices of women deteriorated, while that of children remained the same. The deterioration was less among households owning ration cards or having political contacts. Although the decline is less than what was anticipated, it is expected to have long-term consequences, as micronutrient deficiency was observed in our study.

Keywords: COVID-19, Econometrics, Health and morbidity, Gender

See paper.

  Presented in Session 137. Nutritional Status and its Health and Socioeconomic Effects in Asia