Act for Nutrition conference: WFP official says malnutrition not just driven by poverty

AI Summary

The 'Act for Nutrition' conference in Islamabad highlights Pakistan's malnutrition crisis, emphasizing that malnutrition is driven by multiple factors beyond poverty including poor access to health and sanitation. Experts stress adolescent nutrition and integrated social protection-health programs to improve human capital and nutrition outcomes.

A two-day international conference, ‘Act For Nutrition: The Emergency We Can No Longer Ignore’, is being held at Islamabad’s Serena Hotel on Pakistan’s persistent nutrition and stunting crisis. With more than 40 per cent of children under five stunted, a maternal mortality rate of 155 deaths per 100,000 live births, and malnutrition costing Pakistan upwards of $17 billion annually, the country stands at a crossroads: continue on the current trajectory and surrender an entire generation’s potential, or choose a different future. The two-day conference is bringing together policymakers, international development leaders, health professionals and nutrition experts to confront the burgeoning crisis and build momentum for urgent, coordinated action. The focus of discussions will be on moving the national conversation beyond statistics towards practical, measurable interventions that can improve nutrition outcomes and protect Pakis­tan’s human capital and future generations. View the full agenda here. 1:34pm - WFP official says malnutrition not just driven by poverty Thomas Conan, the deputy country director for the World Food Programme, said that malnutrition was not just driven by poverty. “It is also directly influenced and fed by poor access to services … health services and water and sanitation services,” he said. 1:15pm - Expert calls for focusing on adolescent nutrition Food security adviser on nutrition and social protection at GIZ Pakistan. Dr Faiza Wahab, raised the alarm at the “missing adolescent middle” during conversations about malnutrition. She said that nutrition discourse had been focused on the first 1,000 days of a child, but she stressed, “we are really missing the middle, which is between childhood and motherhood”. “Focusing on adolescent nutrition is not to prepare them for motherhood, but it is also a window where the investment really returns in the form of human capital development,” she said. She explained that during adolescent years, young girls were vulnerable to anaemia and iron deficiencies due to “rapid growth, hormonal changes and menstruation”. “If she is not empowered, she cannot participate in the education, and she has less cognitive capabilities,” Dr Wahab said. 1:10pm - WHO official stresses need for integrating social protection programmes with health services Ellen Thom, the deputy representative for the World Health Organisation Pakistan, said integrating social protection with existing health and nutrition services is important. She said that evidence showed that doing so and strengthening integrated primary healthcare was an effective way of reaching vulnerable families and delivering high-impact nutrition interventions. 1:02pm - WFP official says nutrition is not just about food Thomas Conan, the deputy country director for the World Food Programme, said that nutrition was not only about food. “Its not only about access to food. It is about a healthy diet, the capacity to ensure multi-sectoral intervention and collaboration among us,” he said. He said that it was also necessary to ensure access to a more healthy diet and the design of the social protection was nutrition-sensitive,” he said. Thomas Conan. — White Star/Tanveer Shahzad 12:50pm - BISP official talks about Nashonuma programme BISP Director General Dr Asim Ijaz spoke about the Benazir Nashonuma Programme (BNP), which he said had added a “nutritional and health layer” to the existing BISP registry. He stressed that there exists a 1,000-day window for a child’s development, during which “irreversible damage can be made”. “This is why BISP changed its thinking in 2019,” he said. He said that the recognition was then realised in the Nashonuma pilot launch in 2020, which was then phased out country-wide in 2021. “Nashonuma itself is not a separate bureaucracy but layered onto existing platforms,” he said, explaining that BISP’s registry was now carrying a nutritional and health layer. “So the idea was to have one beneficiary record with multiple beneficial layers,” he said. 12:42pm - ‘We can no longer afford to look away,’ BISP chairperson says Senator Rubina Khalid, the chairperson of Benazir Income Support Programme, said in her keynote address that the responsibility lay not just with providing financial assistance, but with also helping families move from vulnerability towards dignity. “We have gather here today … because we can no longer afford to look away,” she said. She said that more than 40pc of children under five in Pakistan were stunted, while malnutrition placed a huge burden on the economy. “Stunting is not only a health issue. It is a human capital issue, an economic issue and a challenge to Pakistan’s future,” she said. She said that the country lacked integration of the programmes it had to address these issues. At the end of her address, she said: “We must work together so that every child in Pakistan has the opportunity to grow, learn and reach their full potential. Because