UN supports India's measures to tackle hunger and malnutrition

The United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) has endorsed the policy measures taken by India to adress hunger and malnutrition in order to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. The UNWFP Representative and Country Director to India, Bishow Parajuli said to a national agency that India has placed all ingredients in place in order to achieve SDG 2. The achievement would end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture prior to the target of 2030. 

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2030 Agenda for Sustainable development

Along with other countries, India had also signed the declaration on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development apart from 16 other SDGs in 2015. UNFWP is the food assistance branch of the UN along with being the world's largest humanitarian organization to address hunger and promote food security. In the last couple of decades, Parajuli also believes that India has made significant progress including economic growth, poverty reduction, food grains self-sufficiency, and adoption of technical solutions. However, India will still need to accelerate its measures in order to achieve all the SDGs and especially SDG 2.

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National Food Security Act and POSHAN

Under the National Food Security Act 2013, nearly 800 million Indians have a legal entitlement to food. That is approximately 67 percent of the total population. According to Parajuli, the government of India has strong policy environment which addresses hunger and malnutrition. In addition to the Food security act, the government launched the National Nutrition Strategy in September 2017. According to the UNFWP representative, the strategy is a major step towards addressing the situation in a sustainable way. Further, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, launched the flagship initiative, 'POSHAN Abhiyan' for Holistic Nourishment with a three-year budget of RS 9,046.17 crore. Parajuli also belives that NSFA along with POSHAN are “extremely important initiatives”. The policies have sharpened the focus on SDG 2 of zero hunger deliverables. 

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(With agency inputs)