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India can reduce hunger with political will: UN

Imran Khan

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India can reduce hunger with political will: UN

* WFP’s executive director says New Delhi needs to make its state-run public distribution system more effective

NEW DELHI: India can make a significant contribution to the global fight against malnourishment and hunger if it shows political will and makes its food distribution system more effective, the UN’s World Food Programme said.

India is home to more than 230 million undernourished people, more than any other country. While the proportion of malnourished has fallen, the absolute numbers are rising with the population. “So one thing I have been saying to India’s many political parties is that, when it comes to malnourished children, there should only be one party and it’s got to be led from the top,” Josette Sheeran, WFP’s executive director, told Reuters. “That is why I very much welcome the prime minister’s declaration that this will be a top priority for India,” she said in an interview late on Tuesday. “With that will, it can be done.”

Distribution system: Sheeran said India had made major progress in food production and breaking the cycle of famines, but still needed to make its state-run public distribution system (PDS) more effective to deliver food to the poor and end malnourishment. “This isn’t like cancer, which requires some new scientific discovery, the tools are there to do it,” Sheeran said.“And we are partnering with the government to make that PDS system more effective,” she said. More than 27 percent of the undernourished population globally lives in India. A survey by the Indian health ministry, backed by UNICEF, found almost 46 percent of children under the age of three were undernourished, much higher than the sub-Saharan African figure of 28 percent.

“I think one of the challenges is of scalability and ensuring that all efforts are as effective and efficient as possible because of the vast need,” Sheeran said. Indian authorities acknowledge there is corruption and inefficiency in the PDS. In the past year, villagers in rural areas have clashed with police and government officials, complaining they are not getting free food. reuters
 
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When sole purpose of political parties is to grab power and rule, who cares about poor and hunger...:cry:
 
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Political will is something that is always lacking in India for carrying out such things.Politicians only care about their seat and playing petty politics.
 
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* WFP’s executive director says New Delhi needs to make its state-run public distribution system more effective​

NEW DELHI: India can make a significant contribution to the global fight against malnourishment and hunger if it shows political will and makes its food distribution system more effective, the UN’s World Food Programme said.

India is home to more than 230 million undernourished people, more than any other country. While the proportion of malnourished has fallen, the absolute numbers are rising with the population. “So one thing I have been saying to India’s many political parties is that, when it comes to malnourished children, there should only be one party and it’s got to be led from the top,” Josette Sheeran, WFP’s executive director, told Reuters. “That is why I very much welcome the prime minister’s declaration that this will be a top priority for India,” she said in an interview late on Tuesday. “With that will, it can be done.”

Distribution system: Sheeran said India had made major progress in food production and breaking the cycle of famines, but still needed to make its state-run public distribution system (PDS) more effective to deliver food to the poor and end malnourishment. “This isn’t like cancer, which requires some new scientific discovery, the tools are there to do it,” Sheeran said.“And we are partnering with the government to make that PDS system more effective,” she said. More than 27 percent of the undernourished population globally lives in India. A survey by the Indian health ministry, backed by UNICEF, found almost 46 percent of children under the age of three were undernourished, much higher than the sub-Saharan African figure of 28 percent.

“I think one of the challenges is of scalability and ensuring that all efforts are as effective and efficient as possible because of the vast need,” Sheeran said. Indian authorities acknowledge there is corruption and inefficiency in the PDS. In the past year, villagers in rural areas have clashed with police and government officials, complaining they are not getting free food.
 
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We have all the systems in place. All we need is the will to implement them.
 
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We have all the systems in place. All we need is the will to implement them.

Very true.

Massive resources are being pumped into the social sector now. The outcomes are not great compared to the outlays.

All we need is a decade of great implementation and mass poverty in India will be history.
 
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