Need to involve local leaders to raise awareness about govt's nutrition initiatives: Nadda

Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Wednesday stressed on the need for involving local leaders in addressing the challenges of under-nutrition in the country and sensitising them about the government's various initiatives in this regard.

He said the health ministry has accorded high priority to address widespread under-nutrition in the country and has initiated several focused and targeted schemes for addressing the challenge in a convergence mode with the other ministries.

"There is a need to involve local leaders and sensitise them towards nutrition initiatives of the government so that they can raise awareness about it among the people," Nadda said at the third meeting of the 'National Council on India's Nutrition Challenges'.

Union Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Maneka Gandhi was present at the meeting.

About the health ministry's schemes to address the undernutrition challenge, the minister said, "We have focussed on immunisation, detection and supplementation."
Nadda said, "During Poshan Maah (September, 2018), 1.83 lakh activities have been conducted by the Union health ministry and department of health in the states and UTs with involvement of 2.58 crore people."