Act for Nutrition conference: Minister stresses need for communication, awareness to tackle malnutrition

The second day of the 'Act For Nutrition: The Emergency We Can No Longer Ignore' international conference was underway at Islamabad’s Serena Hotel. Experts warned that malnutrition was costing Pakistan nearly $17 billion annually and was caused by a combination of factors including poor diets, inadequate healthcare, weak water and sanitation services, poverty and other issues. A multisectoral response was deemed essential to tackle this crisis.

A panel discussion on communicating for societal change had begun, followed by a statement from Dr Usman Ali Khan, the programme director of the Punjab Family Planning Programme. Khan revealed that while there had been progress, one in four children in Punjab still suffered from stunted growth, with 5.5 million malnourished children in the province.

The Punjab government's Special Secretary Aurangzaib Haider Khan outlined three priorities: a common nutritional indicator for provincial data comparison, an honest recognition of the fiscal architecture under the 18th Amendment, and the inclusion of birth spacing within the nutritional agenda.

Government official stated that Punjab carried the majority of the country's nutritional burden due to its large population. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar emphasized the need for public service messaging to address the entire family, not just mothers, and called for improving public service messaging to tackle malnutrition. Tarar highlighted the moral challenge, economic imperative and national emergency posed by malnutrition, stressing the need for a long-term action plan beyond a one-off event.