Act for Nutrition conference: WB official calls for understanding WASH-related drivers of malnutrition
The second day of a two-day international conference, ‘Act For Nutrition: The Emergency We Can No Longer Ignore’, is being held at Islamabad’s Serena Hotel. The conference aims to address Pakistan’s persistent nutrition and stunting crisis. On the first day , experts at the conference warned that more than four in 10 children under five were stunted and malnutrition was costing Pakistan close to…
On the second day of the 'Act For Nutrition: The Emergency We Can No Longer Ignore' conference in Islamabad, a World Bank official emphasized the need to understand the drivers of child malnutrition related to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Basharat Saeed, a senior water specialist at the World Bank, stressed the importance of comprehensively mapping the pathways of faecal material to design targeted WASH investments.
He also highlighted that safely managed water and sanitation in Pakistan is a long-term goal that may take a decade to achieve, but the investment and political will are vital. Meanwhile, a UK expert from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine pointed out that water and sanitation alone are insufficient to end stunting, and a comprehensive strategy is necessary, with nutrition often perceived as peripheral.
WaterAid, a child-focused organization, called for moving from discussions to financing and delivering multisectoral approaches to address the complex issue of malnutrition. A panel discussion also began, focusing on how dirty water and poor sanitation contribute to stunting in children.
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