High malnutrition rate in Xinjiang amid China crackdown on Uyghurs

With the Chinese government continuing to suppress Uyghurs in Xinjiang, malnutrition has been rising in the community, especially among children and adolescents, according to two separate studies by Chinese researchers. About 16 per cent of Xinjiang residents 15 years old or younger had anaemia, according to South China Morning Post (SCMP). The rate of anaemia in Xinjiang is 23 per cent higher than the national average.

The discovery "suggests that there may be malnutrition among adolescents in Xinjiang", Professor Sun Hong, of Central South University's Xiangya Hospital, said in a peer-reviewed paper published in the journal Soft Science of Health early this month. Sun's data came from Xinjiang's health authorities. SCMP reported that another study by Xinjiang Medical University's school of public health found that over a quarter of Xinjiang children aged up to six years old had anaemia, more than twice the national rate. The results were published by Zikeya Naijimu and colleagues in a paper in another Chinese-language journal, Modern Preventive Medicine, in January.

The researchers say the anaemia was likely caused by the shortage of some elements, such as iron and vitamins, in the diet. China's sweeping crackdown on Muslim ethnic minority, Uyghurs in Xinjiang since 2017 in the name of counterterrorism has drawn global ire, particularly US State Department, that has classified it as 'genocide', reported The Washington Post.

More than one million Uyghurs were detained in re-education camps, where they receive daily indoctrination programmes, with reports of torture for periods ranging from weeks to years. China denied the existence of such camps, but under global pressure in 2019 it eventually accepted that all trainees at "vocational educational and training centers" in Xinjiang had graduated.

However, China has continued to build massive detention centers in the region since then. The US State Department negates the theories of China and in January categorised Beijing's action against Uyghurs as 'genocide'. It also banned imports of goods made in Xinjiang, citing a risk of forced labour in the region.

A number of Western governments have denounced China's policies in Xinjiang, with Britain pressing China in January to allow United Nations rights inspectors to visit the region. The European Parliament condemned China in December for forced labor in Xinjiang.In order to further impose restrictions on reporting the "genocide" by the Chinese goverment, the Chinese Communist Party has barred the broadcasting of BBC World News on the mainland claiming that it has shown 'falsified reports' on issues of human rights violations in Xinjiang against Uyghurs. (ANI)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)