GAUSHALA: Over 7,000 children from six to 59 months of age are found suffering from malnutrition in Mahottari, the Tarai district of Province 2.

Among them, 2,200 children are found suffering from an acute form of malnutrition while 5,002 are mildly malnourished, the District Hospital, Mahottari said.

Poor diet or unavailability of sufficient food have made malnutrition widespread among the rural children while absence of balanced diet is the cause of malnutrition in urban areas, Dr Girendra Jha of Mahottari District Hospital informed.

With these findings, the District Hospital has launched a special programme against child malnutrition at various district-based health facilities.

There are 70,625 children from six to 59 months age group in the district.