India, Bangla among recipients of UN aid for poor children

New York, Dec 4 (PTI) India, Bangladesh and Myanmar
are among seven Asian States where the UN will help improve
the nutrition status of a million undernourished children and
mothers under a new USD 5 million programme.

The other nations which will benefit from the
programme are Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines and
Timor-Leste.

"To achieve the Millennium Development Goals,
malnutrition has to be addressed urgently and effectively,"
the World Food Programme (WFP), Regional Director Tony Banbury
told a meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in Hong
Kong, where business leaders and philanthropists also
committed over USD 4 million to support the plan.

"WFP is working hard to improve the nutritional value
of the food support we provide by providing fortified food
products and micro-nutrient supplements."

The agency will provide locally-fortified food
products over the next three years to at-risk children under
two, moderately malnourished individuals, pregnant and
lactating women and populations suffering from micro-nutrient
deficiencies and chronic illnesses.

Based on work done in Laos, WFP will work with
multiple stakeholders to increase the scale of production and
distribution of improved fortified corn soya blend. In
Myanmar, it will work with the private sector to ensure
produce for WFP operations. In Timor-Leste, it will create a
consortium of government, NGOs and private bodies to produce
food.

In India, WFP will aim to secure technical expertise
and funding to support research into the production of a for a
cost-effective ready-to-eat product for people in emergencies.

At the CGI meeting's closing session Wednesday,
popular South Korean film actor Jang Dong Kun was appointed
WFP National Ambassador Against Hunger to focus on raising
funds for hungry children in Asia. PTI DS
SAK
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