New Delhi, Sept. 3 -- India's growing focus on preventive healthcare is placing nutrition and food safety at the centre of efforts to reduce the long-term disease burden, said Rajit Punhani, Chief Executive Officer, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), at the 'Illness to Wellness' Conference on Healthy Nutrition for a Healthy Nation.
Punhani said, "There is a clear shift in the public-health landscape towards prevention, and food sits right at the centre of this transition." He highlighted FSSAI initiatives including Eat Right School, Eat Right Campus and Eat Right Thali to promote informed food choices.
Organised by the Illness to Wellness Foundation, the conference brought together policymakers and health experts. Anil Rajput, Chairperson, Advisory Council, Illness to Wellness Foundation, said, "The foundations of a healthy nation are laid much before illness takes a person to the hospital, and nutrition must be at the heart of this transition from illness to wellness."
Rajesh Bhushan, Former Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and Chairperson, Governing Council, Illness to Wellness Foundation, called for a life-cycle approach to nutrition.
Dr Zoya Ali Rizvi, Deputy Commissioner, National Health Mission, said 10.5 lakh ASHAs and Anganwadi workers are the backbone of grassroots nutrition efforts.
Dr Sanjay Kumar Mattoo, Joint Commissioner & Additional Deputy Director General, Central TB Division, linked malnutrition with tuberculosis and stressed collective action.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.