AMN /
Union Cabinet today approved setting up of National Nutrition Mission, NNM, with a three year budget of 9046.17 crore rupees commencing from 2017-18. The NNM, as an apex body, will monitor, supervise, fix targets and guide the nutrition related interventions across the country.
Briefing media in New Delhi, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said, the Government is committed to ensure that every child and pregnant woman and lactating mother gets adequate nutrition to eliminate malnutrition and stunting. The NNM will strive to reduce the level of stunting, under nutrition, anemia and low birth weight babies.
It will create synergy, ensure better monitoring and issue alerts for timely action. Ms Gandhi said, food which is being served to children will be monitored by the Ministry. She said, the government will encourage states/ UTs to perform, guide and supervise the line Ministries and states/ UTs to achieve the targeted goals. She said, results of setting up National Nutrition Mission will show up within a year.
Speaking on the occasion, Health Minister J P Nadda said, government is committed to fight malnutrition. He said, the NNM is the biggest step in this direction. Mr Nadda said, an elaborate mechanism will be put in place under the mission to monitor and track nutrition status.
The Women and Child Development Ministry has already designed a real-time monitoring system ‘ICDS -CAS’ to track nutrition goals and Anganwadi functionality.