QUETTA: Civil society leaders and social activists have called on the government to take concrete steps to improve nutrition for malnourished children and ensure policies that support farmers who provide healthy food to communities.

Speaking at a seminar organised by Hope Balochistan, in collaboration with Welthungerhilfe, a non-governmental organisation in Germany, to mark the World Food Day on Wednesday, they said that not only the government, but members of civil society should also fulfil their responsibility for improving the food quality for the sake of children.

The chief executive of Hope Balochistan, Kareem Baloch, while speaking on the occasion, highlighted alarming statistics from global reports, noting that 9 million people die from hunger each year, with 25,000 daily fatalities.

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He said that 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted annually, and an average person in Pakistan wastes around 250 grams of food at weddings and other events.

He said that the UN’s World Food Programme has marked World Food Day annually since 1997 to raise awareness of the importance of food and the need to prevent wastage. Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (zero hunger) requires halting food waste.

Gul Khan Naseer Baloch, Head of Programmes at Hope Balochistan, said that while Pakistan is rich in food resources, unnecessary use and poor planning create challenges.

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2024