Govt urged to invest to decrease malnutrition among masses
Investment in Human wellbeing is equal to nothing due to which Pakistan is facing a huge crisis of malnutrition put the country amongst the worst in the world. The government needs to pay special attention to decrease malnutrition amongst the masses to make a prosperous and developed society.
This was stated by speakers at media consultation organized by Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Allaince (SUNCSA,Pak) with support of Micronutrient Initiative(MI) . The event was attended by representatives of print and electronic media. Mr. Majid Sulehri, Executive Council Member of SUNCSA,Pak welcomed the participants and shared objectives of the consultation. He said SUNCSA,Pak is a coalition of over 110 civil society organizations working with a mission of creating a strong, coordinated and vibrant civil society constituency to foster multi-sectoral developmental approaches to support nutrition agenda, the SUN CSA - Pakistan has defined four broader areas of focus i.e. Advocacy & Awareness Raising, Monitoring and Accountability, Networking and Capacity Building.
Dr. Muhammad Irshad Danish, Program Manager SUNCSA,Pak briefed the overall situation of malnutrition in Pakistan particularly in Punjab beginning with the concepts of stunting and wasting. The rate of change for both stunting and wasting has been very slow in Pakistan, emphasized Dr Danish. He explained that poverty is not the only reason behind child malnutrition in the country. He said Punjab contributes more than three quarters of the country's annual food grain production. The National Nutrition Survey conducted in 2011 found that stunting, wasting and micronutrient deficiencies are endemic in Pakistan. Despite its major contribution to Pakistan's annual food grain production, Punjab province also faces considerable food insecurity and malnutrition. Dr. Danish said that 59.5% of household facing food insecurity, 42 % of under 5 children were stunted, 13% wasted. He added that 34% children under 5 were underweight, Vitamin A deficiency in women was 41.8%, and Vitamin A deficiency in children was 51.0% while the 60.3% children were found severally anemic.