Clutching their hungry babies, a group of mothers stir a semolina dish under the guidance of a teacher, part of an effort to combat malnutrition that affects nearly half of children in southern Pakistan.
Though Sindh province is home to Karachi, the country’s sprawling financial hub along the Arabian coastline, children in rural areas just hours away face alarming rates of wasting and stunting.
In the sun-scorched village of Sujawal, lethargic children with visible bones struggle in the heat as social workers teach mothers about nutrient-rich ingredients and debunk harmful food myths.
“Before, we only fed our children potatoes because they were always available at home,” said Shahnaz, 25, who has transformed the diet of her six children – once weak and frequently ill – after a year of classes.
Now, convinced that children should eat a varied diet, she has introduced affordable ingredients such as lentils and semolina into her cooking, lifting her daughter out of malnutrition.
