'Malnutrition a curse that must be removed'

Singling out malnutrition as a "curse" which must be removed, PM Manmohan Singh promised efforts to provide access to education and improve health care services for all citizens.

Singling out malnutrition as a "curse" which must be removed, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday promised efforts to provide access to education and improve health care services for all citizens.

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"The problem of malnutrition is a curse that we must remove. Our efforts to provide every child with access to education and to improve health care services for all citizens will continue," Singh said in his address to the nation on the occasion of the 62nd Independence Day from the ramparts of the Red Fort.

The country needs to take forward initiatives for giving equal status to women and for their social and economic empowerment, he said promising to continue striving for the "development and prosperity of the country".

The Prime Minister asserted that the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has been expanding public health facilities and services in rural areas.

"We have strengthened the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and expanded the mid-day meal programme upto upper primary level in all districts of the country," he said.

The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission has been expanding public health facilities and services in cities, he added.