The Odisha government on Saturday told the Assembly that a total of 11,710 children in the state are suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM).
Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida, who is in charge of the Women and Child Development Department, said this in her reply to a query from BJP MLA Laxman Bag.
As per the deputy CM's statement, tribal-populated Mayurbhanj district has reported the highest number of children suffering from SAM. The district has a total of 1,460 such children.
Similarly, 1,269 children in Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi's home district of Keonjhar are also found to be suffering from severe acute malnutrition while 760 such children were identified in Nabarangpur district, she said.
Among other districts which reported higher numbers of such children include, Rayagada (645), Kalahandi (636), Malkangiri (570), Ganjam (558) and Balasore (536).
Jagatsinghpur district has reported the lowest number of SAM children among the 30 districts of Odisha. The district has 50 malnourished children, Parida said.
She informed the House about the schemes implemented by the government to prevent malnutrition among children.
The Women and Child Development Department has been implementing the Supplementary Nutrition Programme, 'Mukhymantri Samproona Pushti Yojana' (MSPY), 'Pada Prusti Karyakram' (PPK) and 'Mamata Diwas'-VHND (Village Health and Nutrition Day) at Anganwadi centres, Parida said.
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