Rs.80 crore aid to Madhya Pradesh to fight malnutrition: envoy

BHOPAL - British High Commissioner Richard Stagg Tuesday said that of the Rs.300 crore provided to Madhya Pradesh for development programmes from his country’s Department for International Development (DFID), Rs.80 crore were to tackle malnutrition.

Addressing a joint press conference with DFID head Michael Anderson, Stagg said the quality of life in slums has improved in Madhya Pradesh with the aid.

The two said that though the state government has not been as strong as it should have been in tackling malnutrition, it should also be kept in mind that malnutrition is not the problem of lack of food alone but a more complex problem.

“Only supplementary feeding among the children in the age group of 3 to 6 years is not enough to tackle malnutrition. It should be taken to the household level among the children of 0 to 2 years age group”, they said.

The duo also visited the slum areas in Bhopal where the DFID assisted programmes are being implemented and expressed satisfaction over the pace of works.