Act for Nutrition conference: Govt official says nutritional challenges cannot be addressed without acknowledging population dynamics

On the second day of the international conference 'Act For Nutrition: The Emergency We Can No Longer Ignore', held at Islamabad's Serena Hotel, a government official emphasized the importance of acknowledging population dynamics in addressing Pakistan's nutritional challenges. Dr Shabana Haider, member (population) in the Planning Commission of Pakistan, stressed that nutritional challenges could not be addressed without acknowledging population dynamics, stating that demographic dividends could not be reaped without investing in nutrition.

She lamented that while Pakistan had done well on the policy side, the documents themselves were not enough and that the country had neglected population as a subject. The official pointed out that 40 percent of children under five were stunted, and that malnutrition was costing Pakistan nearly $17 billion annually. She added that the lack of a cohesive national narrative on malnutrition hindered collective efforts to address the issue.