ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives has launched the “National Multisectoral Nutrition to Reduce Stunting and other forms of Malnutrition” worth Rs8.5 billion under the Pakistan Nutrition Initiatives (PANI).

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal formally launched the programme at a ceremony held at the Planning Commission office.

This multisectoral programme is for highly-burdened stunted, calamity-hit and less privileged districts, including 12 districts in Balochistan, 10 in Sindh, five in Gilgit-Baltistan, and two each in Punjab and Azad Kashmir.

The programme is aimed at reducing stunting and other forms of malnutrition with a multisectoral approach.

Over 30 neglected districts to be covered under the initiative

The other objectives of the project are the provision of micronutrients and nutritional supplements, provision of re-programme ready-to-use therapeutic and supplementary foods to treat and prevent stunting and wasting, promote healthy dietary practices and early childhood development, advocacy, and behavioural change, research of local cause local solution, development of local food supplements and provision of iron folic acid supplementation and de-worming for adolescent girls, children, and pregnant and lactating women.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Iqbal said Pakistan is a country with a high level of food insecurity as per the National Nutrition Survey (NNS) of 2018, nearly 37 per cent of households are food insecure, with regions like Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s newly merged districts being even worse.

Furthermore, 40.2pc of children under the age of five suffer from stunted growth, 29pc are underweight, and 18pc are wasted, and these figures have remained stagnant for over three decades which is why under-nutrition accounts for nearly half of all deaths in children under five.

The most common deficiencies in Pakistan are those of iron, protein, vitamin A, vitamin D, zinc, and folic acid. Iron deficiency, leading to issues like anaemia, low birth weight and poor weight gain, affects children the most in the first two years of life.

The NNS confirms that 49.1pc of children in the country are iron deficient. He further added that the future of our children is at risk as 40pc are stunted hence, PANI has been launched.

He stressed the multisectoral approach to address all the underlying determinants and other confounding factors that contributes to malnutrition such as food adulteration, poor water sanitation, and health and hygiene, to have a whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach.

He mentioned that PANI is a part of a larger effort of investment into the health and development of our people.

The planning minister mentioned that after the eighteenth amendment, most of the social sectors have been devolved to the provinces hence it is their responsibility to initiate such programmes and align their resources which initiatives such as PANI.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2023