Uttar Pradesh will be looking towards international agencies to fight malnutrition and stunted growth among young children as it plans to launch a new project coined ‘Ek Sahi Shuruat’ on December 4.
This scheme will be launched in collaboration with Micronutrient Initiative - an international NGO, working across several countries, helping vulnerable communities get better nutrition. The scheme will be carried out by the Government of UP and SIFPSA. The project will be initially launched in 30 districts in the state.
“The new scheme `Ek Sahi Shuruat’ will be launched on December 4, 2015. The project aims at a series of interventions to improve the health of adolescents, pregnant women, newborn and young children (upto 2 years of age),” a senior official told The Pioneer in lucknow on Monday.
He said that the interventions involve working closely with the state government to build better capacities and skills of health care workers, improve the supply chain, ensure target groups receive correct nutrition and children have the best start in life.
“Prior to this, the international agency will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the state government and SIFPSA as a mark of commitment of MI’s support to UP,” the official said.
The launch will be attended by MP from Kannauj, Dimple Yadav along with senior Health department officials, the Canadian High Commissioner to India, Nadir Patel, MI President Joel Spicer and other senior staff from MI.
The state of health of children is very poor in UP. The report of State Nutrition Mission says that 41 per cent children die within one year while a whopping 42 per cent of children below 3 year of age are malnourished. Over 57 per cent of these children have stunted growth and 51 per cent of them do not get mother’s milk because of malnourishment mothers.
To provide a better health to children, the UP government had launched the State Health Mission on November 3, 2014. The core committee of the mission is headed by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav while his wife Dimple Yadav is one of the members of the committee. Kamran Rizvi was made Mission Director and the CM declared that he would remain on the post till his government was in power.
“The new project aims at improving health of young children, lactating mothers and pregnant women through intervention. It will be the right beginning to achieving goal of health society,” Chairman, Uttar Pradesh State Child Rights Protection Commission, Juhie Singh said.