PTI

Mumbai, Jul 23: A seven-month-old child died of malnutrition in a tribal-dominated hamlet in suburban Goregaon, sources in the local civic-run hospital said on Monday.

The child was last week taken to a private hospital where he died, the sources said.

Two more seven-month-old children suffering from severe malnutrition were admitted to the Government Hospital in Aarey Colony, an NGO said.

Several other children are reportedly suffering from severe malnutrition in the area, Samik Mukti Sangh said.

"Many of the tribal family members from the 27 hamlets in Aarey Colony can't afford to have proper food, leave alone nourished food," said Jitu Warvi, a member of the NGO.

Most of these tribals work as daily wage labourers or are unemployed and can't afford to take proper care of their families and children, Warvi said. "Their families are big and they have no regular income to feed the children."

"Adding to their woes, there is no healthcare facility for them. The one government hospital which is within the huge green belt of Aarey Colony is ill equipped," he said.

Civic health officials, however, claimed, the tribals do not come forward to take modern medicines.

Recently the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) had pointed out that 40 per cent of Mumbai's children are undernourished, according a senior official of International Institute of Population Sciences here.