Renuka launches Coalition for Nutrition Secure India

New Delhi, Oct 3 (UNI) Terming malnutrition as as 'silent emergency,' Minister of State for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury today called for the formation of an inter-agency coordination mechanism, nutrition education and communication to prevent it.

Inaugurating a consultation on 'Where Hunger Rules, Peace Cannot Prevail-A Road Map for a Hunger Free, Nutrition Secure India', organised to commemorate the International Day of Peace and Non-Violence here, Ms Chowdhury stressed that a strong and diverse partnership, including media, was needed to reduce malnutrition.

She launched the Coalition for a Nutrition Secure India led by eminent agriculture scientist and father of the Green Revolution M S Swaminathan.

Releasing a book containing recommendations from a group of over 100 experts on how to attain a nutrition-secure India, Ms Chowdhury said her ministry was committed to get these suggestion into action and they could also form part of the Eleventh Five Year Plan.

The recommendations came from the National Nutrition Conclave, a unique meeting organised by the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, USAID and the Indian Council of Medical Research with support from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Women and Child Development in August in Chennai.

At the three-day conclave, a diverse group including central and state government officials, NGOs, civil society, corporate leaders, bilateral and multilateral development agencies, nutrition experts, activists and academics gathered to answer the question: A Nutrition Secure India: How do we get there? Speaking on the occasion, Prof Swaminathan, MP and President of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said three things were needed to address the problem of malnutrition 'awareness, analysis and action.' He said India had failed in taking action and needed to mobilise the 'power of partnership.' More UNI