The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), India, in collaboration with the Government of Jharkhand, on July 19, 2010, launched an operational plan to achieve nutrition security in a block of Gumla district in Jharkhand. The operational plan is based on the Leadership Agenda for Action, a consensus document developed by the Coalition for Sustainable Nutrition Security in India.

To improve the nutritional status of the population, the operational plan, implemented through USAID’s Vistaar project and its local partner Vikas Bharti, provides for interventions at different stages in the life cycle and focuses on children, adolescent girls, and women.  The plan also lays out block level activities to increase coordination between the government programs on primary health care, nutrition supplementation, and water and sanitation. 
Presiding over the launch ceremony, Mr. S. K. Chaudhury, Development Commissioner, Jharkhand extended the full support of his administration in the implementation of the operational plan. 

Mr. Rahul Sharma, District Commissioner, Gumla, presented the perspective of the district administration in Gumla. Also present on the occasion were Dr. Anchita Patil, Senior Advisor (Maternal & Child Health), USAID; Ms. Madhuri Narayanan, Technical Director, Vistaar Project; Dr. Manju Shukla, State Director, Vistaar Project; Mr. Laxmikant Palo, Senior Technical Advisor, Vistaar Project.