New Delhi: “There are many little things that can be employed in our country’s effective fight against malnutrition. Today, due to lack of awareness, both poor and affluent families are affected by malnutrition. The month of September will be celebrated as ‘Poshan Abhiyaan’ across the country. You must get connected with it, get information about this initiative, add some new facet to ‘Poshan Abhiyaan’ by contributing to it. If you manage to save a few people from malnutrition, it would mean that we can bring the country out of the circle of malnutrition,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat on Sunday as he urged his fellow citizens to mark September as Nutrition month.
Poshan Month was launched last year by the government to improve the nutritional status of children up to 6 years, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers to achieve specific targets for reduction in low birth weight babies, stunting growth, undernutrition and prevalence of anemia over next three years.
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Asking people to help the country achieve its nutritional goals, PM Modi further said,
Balanced and nutritious food is essential for all of us, more so for women and the new-born, since these two categories are the foundation of the future of our society. Under the ‘Poshan Abhiyaan’ campaign, nutrition made available with the help of modern scientific methods is being converted into a mass movement all over the country.
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Earlier this month, PM Modi speaking about Poshan Month had talked about government’s commitment in providing affordable and quality healthcare to poor, needy and smallest sections of the society. He had said,
Health and nutrition are the priority areas of our government. Health remains one of the key areas in our quest of building an inclusive and new India. An integral part of our vision is achieving ‘kuposhan mukt bharat’ (malnutrition-free India) by 2022.
Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani had also mentioned the government’s plan to double its outreach during ‘Poshan Maah’ (Nutrition Month) by taking the message of importance of optimum nutrition to every household, she said, “Malnutrition is prevalent not only in rural and poor areas but also in urban areas of India and there is a need to spread awareness on what is healthy and nutritious food.”
From next month, the government will organise a wide range of activities focussing on five aspects of nutrition – first 1,000 days in the life of a child, fight against anaemia and diarrhea, personal hygiene and knowledge of what is nutritious. Last year, 23 lakhs activities across the country were recorded during the Poshan Month through which approximately 27 crore people were reached out, according to the Ministry of Women and Child Development and out of the 27 crore one third were said to be men.
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Poshan Month: Here’s all you need to know about the nutrition month
