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World Food Programme - India the food aid arm of the United Nations |
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International
Women's Day 2000 - Media Coverage 5 March 2000, Financial Express,
New Delhi, India 7 out of 10 women go hungry:
WFP IF hunger had a face, it would be
the face of a woman as seven out of 10 of the world's poor are women.
Some 550 million women live below the poverty line, the World Food Programme
(WFP) said recently. Expressing concern over the
situation of women around the world, especially in India, WFP South Asia regional
manager Pedro Medrano said the poverty aspect automatically led to
non-accessibility of food. "The food intake of a
considerable section of Indian women is calorie deficient, and a staggering
83 per cent of the country's women suffer from iron deficiency, and anaemia
during pregnancy" he said. Despite several reforms proposed
by the government, the general situation of the weaker sex remains pathetic
with women deprived of basic necessities of life such as food, health and
education said Medrano. "There is no dearth of
schemes and legislations for gender reforms, but what we need is political
will to implement them expeditiously," the UN representative, who has
traveled extensively in the interiors of India, said. He said non-availability of food
was not a question as there was sufficient food in the country, but denial to
food access was the primary cause of the malaise, especially in a country
where "women eat last".
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