Financing is the biggest obstacle in the way of reforms needed to make nutrition a major objective rather than treating food security as a question of producing enough calories.
PAKISTAN’S children are among the most malnourished in the South Asian region, behind Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal. Multiple statistics from studies and official sources indicate that around 30-40 per cent of children aged under five (<5) are stunted, meaning low height for age, 30pc are underweight and 17.7pc are affected by wasting.
Moreover, newborns in Pakistan face the additional challenge of cognitive disabilities that can emerge from maternal malnutrition. Approximately one in three mothers is malnourished. Among women of childbearing age, 42.7pc are anaemic, 27pc are deficient in vitamin A, and 80pc are deficient in vitamin D. This contributes to low birth weight among newborns the prevalence of which has been reported at 22.7pc. Children of malnourished women are more likely to experience cognitive impairments, short stature, lower resistance to infections, and a higher risk of disease and death throughout their lives.
Rather intriguingly, Pakistan’s overall dietary energy availability is adequate. The national food supply, however, falls short of what is needed to support healthy diets in line with national guidelines. Gaps persist in the availability of key food groups, including fruits and vegetables, pulses and legumes. These shortages directly weaken the population’s access to, and ability to choose, a healthy diet.
