Islamabad, Federal Health Minister Dr. Nadeem Jan expressed Pakistan’s strong commitment to combating malnutrition at the Global Food Security Summit in London. Highlighting Pakistan’s resolve and political will to address this critical challenge, Dr. Jan outlined the country’s comprehensive approach to tackling under-nutrition issues.

According to Press Information Department, Dr. Jan emphasized Pakistan’s clear vision, firm political will, adequate capacities, and trained community workforce to effectively combat malnutrition. He acknowledged the collaborative efforts of global partners, including the British Government, UAE Government, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Children’s Investment Fund Foundation in organizing the Summit. Despite progress in various social sectors, Pakistan still faces high levels of under-nutrition, with significant numbers of children suffering from wasting and severe wasting, and a high prevalence of low-birth weight babies.

The Minister highlighted the need for substantial financial resources, estimating a requirement of at least 150 million USD per year to address malnutrition effectively. He thanked the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation for their support of 10 million USD. Dr. Jan advocated for a sustainable and integrated approach, emphasizing the importance of continuity in policies, political and donor will, and innovative government programming. The Pakistani government is committed to reducing childhood wasting to less than 15% by 2025, as part of the Global Action Plan to prevent and manage child wasting. This goal necessitates a strategic shift from solely treating severe wasting to preventive measures, early detection, and effective management.

Pakistan has initiated several concrete actions, including remodeling programs to focus on prevention, early detection, and treatment of malnutrition, simplified guidelines for wasting management, local capacity building for Ready to Use Therapeutic Food production, and inclusion of wasting management in the Conditional Cash Transfer program under the BISP Nashonuma Programme. The government plans to allocate additional funding to strengthen the prevention, early detection, and management of wasting, including local procurement of RUTF.