Bhubaneswar, Nov 13: The Odisha government is focusing on eradicating malnutrition as a top priority, Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida said during the state-level Take Home Ration (THR) conclave held on Tuesday. The event, organized by the Women and Child Development (W&CD) department in partnership with UNICEF, aimed at discussing strategies to combat malnutrition and enhance nutrition programs in the state.
Parida acknowledged the Central government’s role in supporting initiatives such as ‘Poshan Abhiyaan’ and other nutrition-related programs in Odisha. She highlighted the need to strengthen the current systems and improve the nutrition supplements provided through the THR program to better serve the state’s beneficiaries.
The Deputy Chief Minister emphasized the state’s commitment to achieving the goal of zero malnutrition. She pointed out that engaging with various stakeholders to explore successful practices and refine the state’s nutrition strategy would be crucial to achieving this target.
Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, who also attended the event, underscored that eliminating malnutrition is a key objective for Odisha’s long-term development plan, ‘Odisha Vision – 2047’. “We must adopt a time-bound, mission-oriented approach to completely eradicate malnutrition,” Ahuja stated.
W&CD Principal Secretary Subha Sarma explained that the conclave aimed to share state-specific insights and best practices, enabling Odisha to enhance its nutrition strategies and tackle malnutrition more effectively.