Vadodara, Sep 17 (PTI) The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has launched a nutrition awareness campaign under which around 5,000 school children in Gujarat's Anand district will be provided milk free of cost this week.

NDDB Chairman Dilip Rath launched the campaign in Anand town, located around 40 km from here, on Monday by flagging off a vehicle which will go to various government schools in the city this week and distribute milk to nearly 5,000 students.

"With an aim to address the issue of malnutrition, the NDDB, which is observing the nutrition awareness week from Monday, has set up a foundation for providing milk to government school children," Rath told reporters.

The NDDB Foundation for Nutrition (NFN) is striving to provide 200 ml of flavoured and pasteurised toned milk to government school children on all working days during the week, he said.

So far, the NFN has distributed around 70 lakh units of milk to nearly 48,000 children across seven states in the country, he said.

"Milk is a complete food and a vital constituent of a balanced diet. It is rich in various macro and micro-nutrients like protein, vitamins and various minerals, which are essential for maintaining good health," he noted.

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