India can reduce hunger with political will - WFP

By Bappa Majumdar

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India can make a significant contribution to the global fight against malnourishment and hunger if it shows political will and makes its food distribution system more effective, the U.N.'s World Food Programme said.

India is home to more than 230 million undernourished people, more than any other country. While the proportion of malnourished has fallen, the absolute numbers are rising with the population.

"So one thing I have been saying to India's many political parties is that, when it comes to malnourished children, there should only be one party and it's got to be led from the top," Josette Sheeran, WFP's executive director, told Reuters.

"That is why I very much welcome the prime minister's declaration that this will be a top priority for India," she said in an interview late on Tuesday.

"With that will, it can be done."

Sheeran said India had made major progress in food production and breaking the cycle of famines, but still needed to make its state-run public distribution system (PDS) more effective to deliver food to the poor and end malnourishment.

"This isn't like cancer, which requires some new scientific discovery, the tools are there to do it," Sheeran said.

"And we are partnering with the government to make that PDS system more effective," she said.