According to an estimate, 600 children die daily worldwide due to malnutrition. Pakistan is also among the countries with high prevalence of malnutrition that causes stunting among children along with other defects.
This was said at an awareness event held at the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) on Wednesday. A play directed by Imran Shirvanee was also enacted at the end of the event to highlight the cause of eliminating malnutrition.
The event was organised by the Trust for Malnutrition and Stunted Growth (TMSG) that has been adopting clinics to serve food supplements to malnourished children with the help of donor agencies and also organising awareness and training programmes to eradicate malnourishment and stunting from the country.
Addressing the event, TMSG Chairman Aziz Memon termed malnourishment the mother of all evils. Discussing reasons behind malnourishment among children, he said early marriages, poverty and frequent births were a major cause.
He lamented that babies even sometimes did not get enough nutrition in the wombs of their mothers. He added that the trust had also planned to launch a major programme in this regard with Unicef’s support.
The event was told that the TMSG had so far adopted 85 clinics where it provided ‘ready-to-use therapeutic food’ and ‘ready-to-use supplementary food’ sachets among malnourished families.
A video was also screened at the event showing various services of the trust. The audience was informed that around 54,000 children had so far benefitted from the TMSG.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was also signed between the TMSG and Al-Khidmat Foundation during the ceremony for joint efforts against malnutrition. It was announced that another MoU would be signed between the trust and Saylani for the same purpose.
At the end of the programme, a play titled ‘Yeh Bacha Kis Ka Bacha Hai’ was staged that showed elite class members’ indifference to poverty, hunger and malnutrition in society. The title was based on a poem by Ibn-e-Insha that was recited throughout the play.
The play sought to rattle the conscience of the affluent members of society so that they could join efforts for eradicating malnutrition.