(a) the targets set by the Government to reduce stunting, wasting and anemia under Poshan Abhiyan;
(b) the reasons for worsening poverty and hunger levels in the recent past; and
(c) the steps taken by the Government to achieve nutritional targets in a time bound manner?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
(SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)
(a) to (c) Poshan Abhiyaan seeks to convert the agenda of improving nutrition into a Jan Andolan involving panchayati raj institutions/village organizations, etc. Jan Andolan aims to address the issue of malnutrition through behaviour change by adopting a convergent approach.
For alleviation of malnutrition, Government has taken measures to strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach and outcomes with focus on developing practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity to disease and malnutrition. Steps have been taken to improve nutritional quality and testing in accredited labs, strengthen delivery and leverage technology to improve governance. Government has advised States/UTs to ensure that the quality of supplementary nutrition conforms to prescribed standards laid down under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and regulations made there under. States/UTs have been advised to promote use of AYUSH systems for prevention of malnutrition and related diseases. A programme to support development of Poshan Vatikas at Anganwadi centres to meet dietary diversity gap leveraging traditional knowledge in nutritional practices has also been taken up.
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