54^th Commission on Population and Development

“Population, food security, nutrition and sustainable development”

INDIA STATEMENT

By

H.E. Dr Harsh Vardhan

Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India

19 April 2021

Mr. Chairman

We congratulate you and members of the Bureau for the conduct of 54th session of the Commission on Population and Development.

Mr. Chairman

The deliberations in this session could not have come at a more opportune time. The theme, population, food security, nutrition and sustainable development is of critical importance at all times. But even more so now as the world is trying to rebuild itself while emerging from the challenges posed by COVID 19. The COVID 19 pandemic has severely disrupted Food Security and Nutrition for millions of people around the world and will likely reverse the progress made towards ending hunger by 2030.

The Government of India accords the highest priority to food security and nutrition as evidenced by the various national legal instruments and schemes over the last few years. Legislation such as the National Food Security Act 2013, mandating food and nutrition entitlements for children pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, provides strong policy framework for protecting, supporting and promoting food security and nutrition interventions, especially during periods of greatest vulnerability for children and women.

Mr. Chairman

A wide spectrum of national programs contributes to improve the nutrition outcomes, addressing both the immediate and the underlying determinants of undernutrition through nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive interventions. The largest of all, the targeted public distribution system distributes 58 million tons of wheat and rice at highly subsidized prices, covering 814 million people across all states in our country.

The government's flagship midday meal program provides daily meals to over 120 million children between classes first and eighth in all government and government-aided schools with nutritious cooked meals, resulting in improvement in school enrollment, retention and attention even while reducing classroom hunger, thereby improving learning outcomes.

Our honorable Prime Minister's overarching scheme for holistic nutrition, or POSHAN Abhiyaan is the government of India's flagship program to improve nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.

Mr. Chairman

Even during the COVID 19 crisis, while making efforts to contain the spread of the pandemic, the Government of India has taken concerted action to ensure that food security and nutrition services are not compromised and vulnerable groups such as farmers daily wage earners, woman, self-help groups and poor senior citizens are provided the support necessary in these unprecedented times.

Early in 2020, the Government of India announced a 22.6 billion US dollars relief package to take care of food security measures to help the poorest of the poor. A second economic stimulus plan worth 13 billion US dollars was sanctioned to aid small and medium businesses mainly in the agricultural and food sectors.

India has recorded drastic reduction in maternal mortality, fertility and child marriage rates over the last two decades, which, along with the aforementioned targeted programs, have contributed to the food security and improved nutrition outcomes.

Mr. Chairman

We reaffirm the International Conference on Population and Development as a dedicated vehicle through which we can and will address achieve food security, improved nutrition outcomes, and the Sustainable Development Goals, while keeping women's empowerment and opportunities for girls at the center.

Thank you