Smriti Irani: 'Malnutrition is no longer a condition of the poor alone'

West Bengal has adopted most of the elements of Poshan Abhiyan, but they would not like to declare it, said Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani on Monday at an event on tackling malnutrition. The event titled 'Malnutrition Free India: Northern Regional Workshop on Best Practices & Innovations from POSHAN Abhiyaan’ was organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF).

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'About half our workforce is undernourished'

At the event, Irani said, "Malnutrition is no longer a condition of the poor alone. About half our workforce is undernourished, making them susceptible now to a range of NCDs. The quality of food is important. The vocabulary of the nutrition conversation needs to change. The language needs to shift to one on quality than one on quantity, with a focus on culturally fit, locally available solution."

She further added, "The vocabulary of the nutrition conversation needs to change. The language needs to shift to one on quality than one on quantity, with a focus on culturally fit, locally available solutions. he consumer behavior will need to change. Our intention is to inform the people about what is best for them and to leave the choice to them. We have 50000 births per year in Tripura and 48000 are covered by the AADHAAR based system, and we track them. The depth of the coverage has improved tremendously. POSHAN Abhiyaan is not a programme of one ministry. It is a partnership of 15 ministries; it is a convergence of efforts of various ministries and all the Indian states. Everybody needs to be a nutrition champion. We have to bring children, women, and men in our societies on board."

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Irani went on to add that the Central government is keen to ensure the running of the project and that it has been tracking families for the same. She said, "Malnutrition is not a "rural" problem. It is seen that only 9% of Indian kids receive proper nutritionally balanced food. We have 8.5 crore people being tracked real-time, on their nutrition and health parameters. The cultural aspect of food habits is part of the mapping exercise that the ministry is currently leading."

The Ministry actively shares the work done across the country on the issue and works on raising awareness across the country.  

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