BHUBANESWAR: Odisha is now ready to have an aggressive target for reduction of malnutrition and stunting and it will be possible to achieve in the coming few years. Odisha chief secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra said this here on Tuesday while attending a national level conclave on childhood stunting in India.
He said the problem of stunting and malnutrition is multi-dimensional. It will need a holistic action plan and concerted efforts from various departments, he added. “Odisha is the first state to introduce a separate nutrition budget. State government is now spending on social sector targeting health, education, nutrition and sanitation,” he added.
Among others, women and child development department secretary Subha Sharma, nutrition chief of Unicef Arjan de Wagt, nutrition expert Srinath Reddy and chairperson of Odisha State Food Security Commission Pramod Kumar Merkap spoke in the conclave.
Mahapatra opened a study report on ‘Covid-19 and nutrition in Odisha- What does the future hold’. The study was conducted by Unicef with support from Odisha government.
