ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed to formulate a comprehensive roadmap in consultations with the provinces to address the issue of stunting.
While presiding over the first meeting of Pakistan National Nutrition Coordination Council (PNNCC) in Islamabad on Monday, the prime minister asked the Special Assistant on National Health Services Dr. Faisal Sultan and the Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation Dr. Sania Nishtar to prepare the roadmap based on timelines which will be presented with the Council of Common Interests (CCI).
Imran Khan said that the federal government will continue to play its role to address the issue of stunted growth.
اسلام آباد:وزیراعظم کی زیر صدارت پاکستان نیشنل نیوٹریشن کوآرڈینیشن کونسل کا اجلاس@ImranKhanPTI pic.twitter.com/trXDSMMrul
— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) October 5, 2020
The meeting was informed that the planning was done in the past 10 years to meet the nutrition requirements of women and children but it was never effectively implemented.
The result is that today about 40 percent of children are the victims of stunted growth while in Sindh, this percentage is 50 percent.
The federal government has institutionalized the Inter-Ministerial PNNCC chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan with eight Cabinet Ministers in the Council.
Dr. Sania Nishtar is the Vice-Chair of the Council which has been assigned the mandate to lead the national nutrition policy, devise specific strategies, and to ensure inter-provincial collaboration for the prevention of stunting and malnutrition among children.