United Nations defines poverty as “a state in which an individual or group lacks the financial resources to meet their basic needs for a minimum standard of living.” WHO defines malnutrition as “the condition that results from eating a diet in which one or more nutrients are either not enough or too much, causing health problems.

How Poverty and Malnutrition Create a Vicious Cycle:

1. Economic Barriers to Nutrition: Low-income households often lack access to nutritious food due to financial constraints, exacerbating malnutrition. 
2. Impacts of Malnutrition on Poverty: Eg. ASER reports show higher dropout rates and lower literacy levels among malnourished children in India.
3. Healthcare Costs of Malnutrition: Eg. Malnutrition-related diseases increase healthcare expenditure, limiting resources for other essentials like education.
4. High Child Mortality: 68.2% of death of children below five years old are caused by malnutrition.
5. Educational Limitations Due to Cognitive Delays: Eg. The ASER report indicates that malnourished children are more likely to drop out of school.
6. Productivity Loss and Economic Growth: Eg. The World Bank estimates that malnutrition costs between 5% and 11% of GDP in regions like Africa and Asia.
7. Social Exclusion: Malnourished individuals are often socially excluded due to their reduced economic and social contributions, further deepening poverty.
8. Intergenerational Transfer of Poverty: Malnourished parents are less able to provide for their children, who then grow up in poverty, continuing the cycle.

Steps to Break the Cycle:

1. Innovative PDS reforms like distributing e-food coupons similar to e-Rupi as experimented in Assam, home delivery of ration material and PDS reforms in accordance with recommendations of Shanta Kumar Committee will help reduce both poverty and hunger problem.
2. Nutrition Programs: Strengthen schemes like POSHAN Abhiyaan and the Mid-Day Meal Scheme to ensure access to nutritious food, especially for children and pregnant women. Eg. Tamil Nadu has introduced Breakfast in  Mid-Day Meal 
3. Women Empowerment: Eg. Kerala’s Kudumbashree program empowers women, enhancing their role in family health and economic decision-making.
4. Economic Empowerment: Expand livelihood programs like MGNREGA to provide stable incomes, improving access to food and healthcare.
5. Community Nutrition Education: Educating communities on proper nutrition and food safety can help address malnutrition at the grassroots level. Brazil’s Fome Zero (Zero Hunger) program has successfully reduced hunger through community-driven nutrition education.

As Mark Winne states, “We cannot end hunger unless we end poverty.” Thus, Only by sustained efforts can we regain progress towards goals of Zero poverty(SDG-1) and Zero Hunger(SDG -2).