WFP and Government of Uttar Pradesh work together to address malnutrition in children
NEW DELHI: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the State Rural Livelihood Mission (SRLM) of Uttar Pradesh are setting up over 200 supplementary nutrition production units to support distribution under the government’s Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme that, among other services, provides nutrition services to children under 6 years of age.
The agreement between WFP and SRLM’s representatives Yogesh Kumar, Mission Director, SRLM and Adeel Abbas was signed today in the presence of the State’s Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath.
“The Government of Uttar Pradesh is very pleased to partner with WFP over this innovative project”, said Manoj Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Uttar Pradesh. “WFP has the proven expertise in this area with long and diverse experience of setting up such take-home ration production units in other states in the country.”
The partnership, which will run through 2023, will potentially reach nearly 33 lakh beneficiaries in 18 districts. Under the agreement, WFP will set up a single block level production unit each in Bighapur block, Unnao and Malva block, Fatehpur, which will be fully automated production plants and also function as centres of excellence. These project sites will be used for training workers from other districts for a state-wide scale-up. Once set up, the production units will be run by women-led microenterprises.
“This partnership with the State Rural Livelihood Mission will go a long way in ensuring nutrition security as well as empowering rural women,” said Bishow Parajuli, WFP Representative and Country Director in India. “Enhancing nutrition in children not only strengthens communities but also secures them a brighter future.”
The supplementary nutrition products will be distributed to communities as take-home rations, which are a proven solution in improving infant and young child feeding practices and prevention of malnutrition.
In addition to these new areas of cooperation, WFP has been supporting the state government in the fortification of mid-day meals in Varanasi and capacity building cook-cum-helpers in schools. WFP has also extended technical support to the government to digitize Fair Price Shops and implement the One Nation, One Ration Card scheme in Uttar Pradesh.
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