Dr Sania opens Pak-Korea Nutrition Centre at UAF

FAISALABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Social Safety and Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar Sunday launched the Pak-Korea Nutrition Centre (PKNC) at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF). Addressing the launching ceremony, Dr Sania said: “I am particularly keen on exploring the feasibility of developing a school meals programme under the Ehsaas framework in collaboration with the UAF.” She said the PKNC would guide the policy direction to address the issue of malnutrition in the country. Dr Sania said the government had also institutionalized the inter-ministerial nutrition task force, headed by the Prime Minister and there were eight cabinet ministers sitting on the task force. Dr Sania also thanked the government of Korea for their collaboration. The PKNC has been established at the Faculty of Food Nutrition and Home Sciences with the total funding of Rs 1.5 billion for a period of over three years. The project will train government officials, nutrition policy makers and 35 master trainers. The master trainers, in turn, will train over 12,000 nutrition educational experts, lady health workers, nutritionists and primary school teachers and others to improve nutrition and child nutrition. The PKNC will comprise six research chairs. During a presentation, Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmed Khan and his colleagues presented the technical modalities of potential school meals programme in detail.