Good nutrition is not only good food. It is also dependant on other factors like health, sanitation and clean environment, said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday here during the release of the Global Nutrition Report. The Chief Minister said he is happy that the report is being released in Odisha and urged the citizens to be aware of good nutrition. He assured that the State Government is committed to the implementation of the Food Security Act and schemes like Shakti Barta and Mamata.
Under-nutrition is being tackled in the State with the help of a number of agencies like DFID. Collectively the problems of nutrition can be addressed, he said. Women and Child Welfare Minister Usha Devi said inputs from the round table conference on the Global Nutrition Report would help focus on how to decrease malnutrition in Odisha. She informed that 15 lakh women in the State have been covered under the Mamata scheme for pregnant mothers and ICDS prorgammes have been decentralised and made community based.
Co-author of the Global Nutrition Report and a senior research fellow at the International Food Research Institute (IFPRI) lawrence Haddad said the report aims to contribute to country led efforts to strengthen accountability, share learning about what is working and highlight bottlenecks to progress and how they may be overcome. He said Odisha is a welcoming and open to innovations on nutrition. There is strong commitment from the leadership, from the Chief Minister to the Secretary, Haddad said. Health and Family Welfare Secretary Arati Ahuja said ICDS is performing well in the State and attendance has gone up in the schools. Women and child should be kept at the centre of all planning.
It may be mentioned here that the Global Nutrition Report launched in November, 2014 tracks worldwide progress for all 193 UN countries in improving their nutrition status, by bringing together data on more than 80 nutrition indicators, including programme coverage, underlying determinants such as food security ,water sanitation and hygiene, research allocations and political commitments to reduce malnutrition. Women and Child Welfare Secretary Saswat Mishra delivered the vote of the thanks.
