This August 15, India will celebrate its 65th year of independence from the British Empire. Since then, the country has seen some improvements in the livelihoods of the poorest of its citizens. However, India still has some of the highest rates of malnutrition in the world.
Millions lack adequate sanitation and die of easily preventable diseases such as diarrhea (the satirical newspaper The Onion did a hilarious take on this during India’s recent electricity blackout). In many parts of northern India, maternal mortality rates exceed those of Sub-Saharan Africa.