Relief from self-interest sacrifice

“Our life may not be as sweet as it used to be long time ago, but we have to exercise patience and share each other’s happiness as we’re passing through hard times despite some relief provided by administration,” say salaried class of people.

Similarly, housewives have their own story about food prices, but they react angrily to malnutrition that fast spreading for many years.

Everybody is a consumer. So, most of citizens do feel impact on their daily life when in spite of administration’s effort to arrest food price hike there is abrupt rise in vegetable, fruit, milk, yogurt and meat prices.

A United Nations Development Programme official said once said the people of Pakistan are of course very capable and intelligent, but they’re not making more progress than they should in terms of poverty reduction and inequality. Perhaps, he forgot that now-defeated terrorists were creating hurdle in our socio-economic progress.

Now wealthy sections of society may not take time in realising that beneficial change demands, as he said, sacrificing short-term, individual and family interest.

The heartening news is that our country is fighting devastating malnutrition with mass food fortifying programme. A programme of fortification of everyday foods such as bread and oil had already been undertaken in an attempt to tackle chronic and widespread malnutrition.

Under a £36 million programme one could see nutrients added directly to wheat flour, edible oils and ghee at source in mills and factories. This was the first time that staple food was to be fortified across the country which reportedly had some of the worst rates of child malnutrition. The programme aimed mainly at changing the health of women and children.

Early child bearing reduces a woman’s nutritional status and there are taboos around women eating certain food. For example, they might be told they can’t eat much egg or meat in pregnancy, which in fact are rich in protein and iron that they need.

The high levels of malnutrition have a devastating impact on our country’s development.

When these children become adults they are more susceptible to communicable diseases, they generate less money for their families. Hence, fighting disastrous malnutrition is must.

— zasarwar@hotmail.com