MANGALDAI, Sept 2 - A month-long mass nutritional campaign called �Nutrition Month� as a part of the Prime Minister�s flagship programme titled Nutrition Mission got under way in Darrang district on Saturday.
The campaign got under way along with four other districts of the State, namely Dhubri, Goalpara, Barpeta and Karimganj. The campaign aims at ensuring elimination of malnutrition problems of children below six years of age and maintaining sound health of all pregnant and lactating mothers.
The mass campaign against malnutrition is being carried out by the State Social Welfare Department with active support from UNICEF, Assam. The Union Ministry for Women and Child Development has already issued directions to work on some parameters of nutrition, including minimising underweight and stunted children, regulating cases of anaemia-affected children, among others.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Ashok Kumar Barman on Thursday held a meeting in this connection and directed all the concerned departments, including Social Welfare, Health, Water and Sanitation, Education , Panchayat and Rural Development to work jointly on the action plans prepared and make the campaign a grand success in the district. This was stated by the District Information and Public Relation Officer in a press communiqu� on Saturday.
The meeting, attended by all the district heads of the concerned Government departments was also addressed by Additional Deputy Commissioners in charge of Social Welfare and Health Kalpana Deka and Bidyut Bikash Bhagawati, among others.
It may be mentioned here that Darrang is among those few districts of Assam where the situation of malnutrition and stunting among children is very alarming.
