Most of rural India malnourished: UNWFP

New Delhi, Feb 21: 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. It 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