LAHORE: The Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Centre (MSNC) faces closure as the Punjab Planning and Development (P&D) Board has decided not to extend the contracts of district coordinators and sector specialists. Several other senior positions in the programme are already lying vacant.

The P&D Board secretary, however, says the board will reinvigorate the MSNC programme by recruiting human resources against vacant positions, adding that those working as sector specialists and district coordinators will continue their jobs.

The MSNC’s four-year programme was set up at a cost of around Rs550 million with gestation period up to June 2020 – to facilitate implementation of Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy of 2015 envisioned to create a single platform for inter-sectoral planning around nutrition. The project was launched in 11 south Punjab districts having high malnutrition and stunting incidence.

Initially, six sectors – health education, agriculture, population, water and sanitation and social protection - were given tasks to facilitate line departments in planning their schemes around nutrition.

The programme is in line with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision to invest in human resources and his resolve to end malnutrition and stunting among children. The prime minister time and again called stunting and wasting major problems for the country and recently included it in his ambitious social safety and poverty alleviation programme ‘Ehsaas’ for the welfare of poor and downtrodden segments of society.

Alarm bells have started ringing in the MSNC as centre’s acting project director (on the instructions of the P&D Board secretary) wrote to district coordinators (one-member staff for coordination with deputy commissioners) in 11 districts that their contracts would not be extended. Similarly, three sector specialists based at the board office in Lahore were also handed over ‘termination letters’, saying that their contracts would not be extended. Two sector specialists were never recruited. Letters were issued by the board secretary on Wednesday.

As soon as the acting project director’s letters reached coordinators, Rajanpur and Layyah deputy commissioners (DCs) wrote to the board chairman requesting extension in services of district coordinators of the MSNC at district level.

Both DCs stated that their districts were having highest percentage of malnutrition and undernourished population in the province and the programme helped stunting and wasting percentages slide down.

According to our Layyah correspondent, the DC stated that Layyah, being among top 10 districts having highest percentage of malnutrition and undernourished, showed signs of improvement with the critical role played by the district coordinator.

“In 2014, an MICS survey in Layyah district had 38.8 per cent stunted growth and 18.9 wasting but the critical intervention of district coordinator of the MSNC reduced the percentages to 29.6 and seven, as reported in the MICS 2018 report,” he stated.

The DC also stated, “Winding-up the role of district coordinator from April 18 at district level after the completion of contract period may reverse the ongoing progress and scale back the achievements made through this programme”.

Imran Ali Shah, member of Layyah district malnutrition committee, said the establishment of MSNC was an approved scheme in the Annual Development Programme but ironically the project was being closed down without proper evaluation of a third party validation.

The Rajanpur DC in his letter also stated that stunting rate in the district was 47.6 per cent and wasting 8.7 per cent and added the programme created various success stories and district could now be cited as a role model for rest of the districts.

P&D Board Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo said the scope of the MSNC programme was being broadened on professional lines. He said the programme was not functioning with a well-knit team, adding that most key posts – project director, member (health), programme coordinator, health and nutrition specialist and a couple of sector specialists – continued lying vacant.

He said the MSNC programme was hit by complications since its inception and matters turned worse when litigation started by the then project director upon his termination, and added the board could get the stay vacated just a few days ago.

Stating that the contracts of the serving three sector specialists and 11 district coordinators will be extended, Mr Sahoo said the board would hire efficient officials against vacant posts to reinvigorate the programme.

Mr Sahoo said the board would soon advertise the post of MSNC project director and moved a summary to the chief minister for his approval to appoint a regular Member (Health) through the Punjab Public Service Commission.

He said the MSNC could utilise just Rs50 million of the programme and fund and that too on the payment of salaries and logistics charges. He said the board in a recent meeting with its chairman Habibur Rehman Gilani decided to reinvigorate the programme. From now onwards, he said the Board had decided to run the programme with Punjab’s own funding.

Fareedullah Chaudhry contributed from Layyah.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2019