New Delhi, Feb 21 (ANI): The United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) says that most rural Indians are victims of malnutrition, despite the introduction of several government schemes to end the problem.
A UNWFP with MS Swaminathan Research Foundation report released here said that 40 per cent of children under the age of three are underweight and a third of all men and women suffer from chronic energy deficiency. t also stressed nutritional outcomes and the associated factors which influence them.
MS Swaminathan, the founder of the research foundation, said:If you want to achieve food security for an individual you must bring three things together – availability of food, access to food – that means the purchasing power needed to buy the food – and finally the ability to absorb the food into the body.”
The report examines the effectiveness of some of the important food-based interventions like the Public Distribution System, the Integrated Child Development Services and the Mid Day Meal Scheme and recommends measures for improved performance.
A survey by the Indian health ministry, backed by UNICEF, had found that almost 46 percent of children under the age of three are undernourished. (ANI)