Bhubaneswar: Making Odisha free from malnutrition is the government’s priority, said Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida at a state-level Take Home Ration (THR) conclave here Tuesday. The event was organised by the department of Women and Child Development (W&CD), in collaboration with UNICEF. Parida lauded the Central government for its support in implementing ‘Poshan Abhiyaan’ and other nutrition interventions in the state. She also emphasised the need for strengthening the existing systems and bringing about transformation in the nutrition supplements provided under THR for the beneficiaries in the state. The Deputy Chief Minister stressed upon the need to reduce and achieve the dream of zero malnutrition in the state. “Discussion among various stakeholders on the best practices options for Take Home Rations and production would help the state to refi ne and modify its existing strategy for nutrition,” she added.
Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja also joined the programme and opined that ‘Malnutrition free Odisha’ is the major goal to achieve for ‘Odisha Vision – 2047’. “We must work in mission mode with timebound manners to eradicate malnutrition,” he added. W&CD principal secretary Subha Sarma said that the programme was organised to learn from state specific nutrition interventions, different types of THR produced, THR production models, value addition to the existing THR and best practices adopted in the respective states.
