A survey carried out by the Madhes Province showed that nearly 16 percent of children are malnourished in the province. 

The Health Directorate of the Madhes Province carried out an assessment among 283,308 children of 133 local levels from among 136 local levels in the province.

Of the assessed children, 35,883 are malnourished, 8,771 are early malnourished and 233,182 are in a normal state of nutrition. 

This status is critical as per the World Health Organization (WHO) standards.

The total number of malnourished and early malnourished children reached 44,654 in the province, which is 15.76 percent of the assessed children. 

Chief Minister of Madhes Province Krishna Prasad Yadav said that the issue of malnutrition in the province has become a serious challenge, which is due to poverty, uneducation, limited awareness on nutrition, lack of proper hygiene and an imbalanced food intake. 

Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Population of Madhes Province Dr Pramod Yadav stated that high malnutrition rate is a worrying case for the province.