BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday expressed concern over malnutrition in the country and said that it is increasing in Gujarat and India.
He stated that Prime Minister Modi, who refers to himself as Vishwaguru, should answer as to why this has happened. He was speaking after inaugurating the state government’s ambitious public health programme, Anaemia Mukta Poushtika Karnataka programme in Karnataka’s Bengaluru.
“Those who have praised Gujarat as a model should answer why Gujarat is rising in the malnutrition index,” CM Siddaramiah said.
The CM asked to compare the statistics given in National Health and Family survey 4 and 5 and quipped ‘can this situation in Gujarat become a model?’
“Without eradicating poverty and illiteracy, everyone will not get good health. So treating these ills is the first priority of our government. Our government’s aim is to reach health benefits to everyone’s doorstep”, added the Karnataka CM. He said that the government is ready to provide the required funds.
The CM called upon Women and Child Welfare Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar and Health Minister Dinesh Gundurao to work together to fullfil the aim of the Government and to keep the children and everyone in our state healthy.
The programme was organized by the Department of Health and Family Welfare at Jnanjyoti Hall. Senior officials of the department including Health Minister Dinesh Gundurao, Women and Child Welfare Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar and Urban Development Minister Bairathi Suresh, Chief Minister’s Legal Adviser Ponnanna were present.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Malnutrition refers to deficiencies or excesses in nutrient intake, imbalance of essential nutrients or impaired nutrient utilization. Around 1.9 billion adults worldwide are overweight, while 462 million are underweight.
Malnutrition is triggered by a lot of factors including scarcity of resources as many families around the globe cannot afford sufficient nutritious food. (ANI)