Malnutrition primary contributor to Pakistan's disease burden for years, says report

ISLAMABAD: As faltering economy remain a persistent cause of growing discontent among the country's people, and poor growth, another important subject--malnutrition--too remains a primary factor in Pakistan's disease burden for many years, according to Dawn.

The opinion piece in Dawn stated that Pakistan's lawmakers cannot escape the fact that malnutrition is a major socioeconomic determinant of maternal health, gender empowerment, child marriage and education.

It, in fact, poses a grave threat to entire communities, as well as the economy.

Together with representatives from UNICEF and FAFEN, the Women's Parliamentary Caucus recently noted that malnutrition costs Pakistan roughly 3 per cent of its GDP and that the nation has the second-highest rate of diabetes patients.

They also emphasised the importance of "targeted intervention" with child- and family-related laws and gender-specific social issues to advance meaningful policy changes.

Citing data, Dawn reported that four out of 10 children under five years of age are stunted, 17.7 per cent suffer from wasting, 28.9 per cent are underweight and 9.5 per cent in the same age bracket are overweight.

Dawn revealed an IPC analysis showing that a shocking 2.14 million children are acutely malnourished across Pakistan, which arose as a result of government apathy and reluctance to take up nutrition as a political programme.

The need of the hour in Pakistan is to shift its focus on guided hygiene practices, healthcare, and food security. Moreover, a brief knowledge about sanitation, nutrition and feeding habits among women and children should form the core focus of government-driven campaigns and policies.

It is impossible to attain even a minimal reduction in undernutrition and malnutrition indicators without consistent funding and healthcare system improvements to close the wealth and poverty divides between rich and poor communities, as well as between rural and urban areas, Dawn stated citing the opinion piece.

Earlier this month, the Pakistan government and the IMF staff concluded the ninth review of the USD 6.5 billion bailout package without a staff-level agreement. The Pakistani government had hoped that they would be able to convince the IMF about implementing the conditions in a gradual manner.

However, Islamabad's hopes were dashed during the IMF mission's 10-day visit to Pakistan.