The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Tuesday asserted that action is being taken by the concerned Ministries to address the problem of malnutrition in the country.

Expressing serious concern over the high rate of malnutrition, he added that 200 districts with high malnutrition and initiation of nation-wide communication campaign against malnutrition have already been identified.

Releasing a report on malnutrition and hunger in New Delhi on Tuesday, Dr. Singh termed the problem as a national shame and said, policy makers and those who implement it, must clearly understand to shape their responses to deal with this problem after taking into account the linkages between education and health. He added that sanitation and hygiene and drinking water and nutrition are also of great importance.

Complementing the Nandi Foundation which conducted the survey to identify the levels of malnutrition, Dr. Singh pointed out that this survey indicates that one child in five has reached an acceptable healthy weight during the last seven years in 100 focus districts.

The Prime Minister said that the survey also brings to the fore that there is 20 per cent decline in malnourishment in the last seven years. Dr. Singh said that the problem of malnutrition can be tackled only through collective efforts.