After checking vector-borne diseases, focus is on ending malnutrition: Yogi

LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said that while neighbouring states were in the grip of vector borne diseases, including Acute Encephalitis Syndrome

LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said that while neighbouring states were in the grip of vector borne diseases, including Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), Japanese Encephalitis (JE), dengue, malaria and kalazar, UP has been able to control these diseases with coordinated efforts by various state government departments.

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“Now, the state government plans to protect vulnerable children from malnutrition with inter-departmental coordination and people’s participation. It is committed to the health of children. It’s a step to make the country strong and capable,” he said.

Yogi was speaking at the launch of the ‘National Nutrition Month’ in the state.

Earlier, the chief minister served nutritious food to 30 malnourished children, performed ‘annaprashana’ (ritual of first feeding of food to a child) of four children, ‘godbharai’ of four pregnant women, handed over nutritious food packets to four teenaged girls and also released four booklets on the nutrition programme of the state government.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed his commitment to New India during the launch of National Nutrition Month in Delhi. The state government is committed to fulfill his mission of ‘Ek Bharat -- Sresth Bharat’.

“The country will progress when the people are healthy. The ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ has created sanitation awareness among people. Now, the government has launched a fight against malnutrition,” he said.

Yogi said the state government will ensure that the nutrition programme does not remain a mere formality. All the state government departments, including health, child development and nutrition, panchayati raj, rural development and food and civil supply will work in coordination to fight malnutrition. The officers have been directed to reach each children and mother, he said.

Highlighting the achievement of the state government in controlling vector-borne diseases, Yogi said each year during July and August the media used to highlight deaths of the children due to encephalitis in the 38 districts. With concerted efforts the state government managed to control encephalitis and protect lives of vulnerable children, he said.

Yogi said he has been raising the issue of encephalitis deaths since the last 25 years by organizing protests on the streets of Gorakhpur and raising the issue in Lok Sabha. “Later, I realized that rather than treatment, focus should be on protection of children from the killer disease. After becoming CM, I drafted a plan to protect the children from AES/JE,” he said.

The effort is showing result. In 2017, 40 children died due to AES in Siddharth Nagar district, this year the death toll is just three. In Maharajganj district 66 children died in 2017, this year the death toll is six, he said.

Acting chief secretary RK Tiwari, child development minister Swati Singh, principal secretary and child development and nutrition Monika S Garg expressed their views at the programme.