The Lancet journal says these 20 countries lack the political will to get nutrition on their list of priorities — and keep it there. As a ray of hope, a group of young politicians cutting across party lines have formed a Citizens’ Alliance on Malnutrition to push the government for a national policy and action plan. They go from one state to the other looking at how state governments are dealing with undernutrition.

They have already found interventions that could be scaled up: fortification in Gujarat or the self-help groups in Orissa. The Lancet study speaks of the commendable work done in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. To a large extent, the mid-day meal programme for older children has taken off. In a model of public-private partnership, Naandi Foundation feeds lakh of school children every day from their 14 centralised kitchens.

There is no paucity of nutrition champions and entrepreneurs in the country. The finance minister could send a signal by making an allocation that shows that he is ready to take the challenge thrown up by the global study.

sonu.jain@expressindia.com