‘Multi-sectoral coalitions in support of nutrition being formed’

Islamabad: Only nations that have invested in developing their human capital will be able to prosper and develop in the world of tomorrow. Studies have shown that 60 per cent of the wealth of a nation is contributed by its human capital; it is therefore critical to invest in early childhood development policies such as universal coverage, universal access to education, and measures to reduce all forms of malnutrition.

The Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and Chair of the Poverty Council Dr. Sania Nishtar made this observation Friday at a meeting organized by Scaling up Nutrition Movement (SUN) Secretariat, Ministry of Planning Development and Reform. The event brought together nutrition stakeholders from various sectors and regions of Pakistan to assess on-going efforts to address malnutrition. Since 2010, the SUN Movement has inspired a new way of working collaboratively to end malnutrition in all its forms.

Terming nutrition as a multi-sectoral agenda, Dr. Sania assured that every effort is being made to explore synergies and applauded the role being played by the SUN Movement. She also emphasized the need to address all forms of malnutrition—under-nutrition, stunting, wasting and micronutrient deficiencies on the one hand, and overweight and obesity on the other.

Dr. Sania said, nutrition is a context-specific agenda and that public policy attention to nutrition has never been higher in Pakistan than it is now under the Ehsaas framework. “I am building multisectoral coalitions in support of nutrition interventions. A number of nutrition interventions are currently in the design phase. Ehsaas will also be prioritizing low-cost nutrition interventions such as asset transfers to chicken and goats and promotion of kitchen gardening initiatives,” she shared.

Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of National Health Services Dr. Nausheen Hamid termed the health sector as a major stockholder with responsibilities for curative and preventive interventions such as food fortification, Infant Young Child Feeding Practices programme, etc. She hoped that the National Nutrition Survey would provide district-level nutrition information for better policy planning and programme monitoring.

Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Planning Development and Reform Kanwal Shauzab said, Pakistan has been making significant efforts to overcome malnutrition and is privileged to have membership on Global SUN Executive Committee and SUN Lead Group. “This puts more responsibility on us to responsibly assess ourselves, to take stock of our efforts, and to decide the way forward. The government is making special efforts to break the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition for which the Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Ministry has been formed, with nutrition as a major component,” she stated.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Chief Nutrition and SUN Focal Point Muhammad Aslam said, Pakistan is making history by being the first amongst 60 SUN member countries to undertake Joint Annual Assessment (JAA) 2019 online. “Pakistan has made significant efforts to overcome malnutrition. Therefore, it is important to capture the success as well as to identify the gaps to set the right direction,” he stated.

The event was attended by representatives of ministries, international donor agencies, development partners, INGOs, civil society organizations and media.