�Poverty is a major threat to children�s well-being�

     Children of the marginalised sections in the State continue to lag behind when it comes to education facilities, toilets in schools, nutrition and others.

About 17% of the girls were avoiding school during their menstrual cycle, and 26% of girls stopped going to schools due to lack of toilets, water and other amenities, according to a survey done by Young Lives, an NGO, and Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS).

Giving the details of the survey at a one-day workshop on ‘Poverty and Well-being of Children in Andhra Pradesh’ here on Wednesday, CESS chairman Prof. R. Radhakrishna said that one third of the children in India were living in families with very low income, and that researches showed that poverty was a great threat to children’s well-being.

The survey said that close to 40% of the children were suffering from malnutrition (25% stunting and 23% thinness) and one third of adults (parents) were suffering from chronic energy deficiencies, the chairman said.

Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education vice-chairman P. Narasimha Rao, Women Development and Child Welfare Secretary K. Sunitha, Krishna District Project Director, K. Krishna Kumari, CESS senior faculty R. Prithvidhar Reddy, Child Development Project Officers and NGO representatives were present.