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Ministers, diplomats and officials from 20 countries are expected to participate in the 3-day Regional Ministerial Consultation on Maternal and Child Nutrition, beginning on Wednesday here. The Constultation will be inaugurated by the Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss and will be presided over by the Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Smt. Kanti Singh. Jointly organized by the Department of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Human Resource Development and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the objective of the meeting is to advocate for the inclusion of food and nutrition as a priority in poverty alleviation strategies.
Despite progress in economic growth and agricultural production, human development indicators for the Asia region are still very poor. Over half of the malnourished people in the world reside in the Asia Pacific region and malnutrition contributes to a significant proportion of the 11 million deaths of children under five years of age every year in the developing countries.
However, because countries in the region have been working in the field of maternal and child nutrition for years, Asia has become a storehouse of knowledge, expertise and experience in the policy, technology, organization and management of malnutrition issues.
The consultation will offer a forum for the exchange of successful programmes in maternal and child nutrition, including food-based interventions. It will provide an important opportunity for the countries to share their current practices and policies and to arrive at a common ground for addressing the challenges.
The consultation is intended to produce a set of recommendations for mainstreaming food and nutrition interventions in poverty reduction strategies and programmes.
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