The Hindu : New Delhi News : GAIN to launch India chapter tomorrow

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Thursday, Mar 22, 2007
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GAIN to launch India chapter tomorrow

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Hoping to tackle malnutrition that affects a number of children in the country, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) will launch its India Business Alliance chapter on Friday.

The chapter -- to be launched by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora at a two-day event -- will serve as a platform for companies and business leaders dedicated to finding market based business solutions for malnutrition through a public private partnership.

"Malnutrition affects two billion people worldwide. Seventy five per cent of Indian children under three years suffer from iron deficiency and 50 per cent from Vitamin A deficiency. The lack of right micro-nutrients in the early years of childhood contributes to the disturbing high child malnutrition rates in the country," said GAIN Executive Director Marc Van Ameringen at a press conference here on Wednesday.

Malnutrition continues to haunt the development agenda and we hope to tackle this through a series of actions that include public private partnerships, he added.

GAIN was created at a special United Nations' session for children in 2002. Established as a Swiss foundation, it currently receives funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the US Agency for International Development and the Canadian International Development Agency.

"In India our approach will be primarily to reinforce existing government and private sector programmes. We will try to mobilise the best of public and private initiatives. Our work here will focus on fortification of staple food items and complementary feeding that will be undertaken in collaboration with existing food aid programmes like the mid-day meal scheme, the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) or the Public Distribution System aimed at the most vulnerable sections of society," Mr. Van Ameringen explained. In India, GAIN will focus on children below three years and pregnant women.

"We will tell the industry in India that it is good economics to invest in nutrition as in a malnourished society, the productivity is less. To address malnutrition, we need to focus on evidence-based high impact interventions," said senior manager of GAIN New Delhi Rajan Sankar.

In Tamil Nadu in association with National AIDS Control Organisation, GAIN plans to provide nutrient dense meals to people living with HIV/AIDS.

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