THE Supplementary provision for the period ending December 31, 2009, saw an allocation of $56,828,000 for the Ministry of Health’s ongoing Basic Nutrition Programme (BNP).

The provision was presented in Financial Paper No.2 of 2009 to the National Assembly, by Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh.   

The Programme, which started in 2003, seeks to eliminate malnutrition and anaemia in pregnant woman and children.

It is expected that over 20,000 of these categories will benefit in 2009 as Government plans to continue registration of beneficiaries, the manufacturing of sprinkles, and distribution of these nutritional supplements and food voucher coupons.

Children who are registered will be receiving sprinkles, while their parents benefit from a free monthly food coupon valued $1,000 which is used at selected shops to purchase food items such as full-cream milk, barley, cornmeal and plantain flour.

The evaluation of the programme has shown that through the BNP programme, there has been a reduction in the prevalence of anaemia in young children by 34 percent along with a 45 percent reduction of under nutrition.

The programme was slated to end in 2007 but was further extended with 33 more distribution centres added, making it a total of 82 centres across the 10 regions.

Through the programme there has also been evidence of behavioural changes in mothers, in relation to their feeding practices.