Concrete policies stressed to fight malnutrition

MULTAN: Food and Nutrition Experts suggested government to devise smart policies for long term solutions to tackle nutritional problems as 40 per cent of children below the age of five years were underweight in the country.

It is because of lack of awareness, climatic changes and poor access to pure foods among communities in the country.

Talking to reporters, Institute of Food Science and Nutrition, Bahauddin Zakariya University chairman Dr Saeed Akhtar observed the country was lagging behind the contemporary world to meet the challenges of optimum nutrition at community level.

He said micro-nutrients deficiencies among these population segments extensively prevailed. He said concerted efforts at gross root level were urged to address the issues of public health significance in the past resulting 40 per cent of children under the age of five years were underweight. To a question about judgment of health issues, he said one of the best indicator to ascertain the nutritional status of any population group was to "judge the child health at societal level". Another expert Dr Tariq Ismail said climate change was amplifying multiple burdens of malnutrition by its effects on food security, public hygiene, water quality and supplies, food safety and maternal and child health care.

The climate change can be considered a pandemic because of its sweeping effects on the health of human and the natural systems which they depend on, they said adding, the adverse effects of climate change could pose serious threats to food security especially to small scale food producers'' lives and livelihoods. Future of country was embedded in agriculture produce therefore, climate change appears to be a serious challenge with respect to food insecurity and malnutrition, Tariq added.

He informed that sustainable development goals exclusively focus on ending hunger, achieving food security and better nutrition for population in resource constrained economies as well as the countries of developed world. Likewise, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) had fundamentally highlighted nutrition as a core ingredient for nations to achieve prosperity and better livelihood. Both the experts suggested long term policies to deal the alarming issues as initiatives would help promoting health across the countries.

The healthy nation would play their effective role for progress and prosperity of the country. They would also contribute for improvement in the economy, the experts concluded.

79 power pilferers held: Police on the report of Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) officials booked 79 power pilferers. The accused were imposed Rs 1.5 million fine. According to Mepco official sources, the power pilferers were fined for stealing 93,000 electricity units. Mepco teams also registered FIRs against five power pilferers.

Cash taken away: Robbers took away Rs 150,000 from a pharmacy near Chowk Kumharanwala here on Sunday. According to police, two dacoits stormed into Al-Basit pharmacy on Piran Ghaib Road near Chowk Kumharanwala and took hostage the owner and employees. The gunmen snatched Rs 150,000. New Multan police have registered a case.