Pakistan faces triple burden of overnutrition, undernutrition and hidden hunger
RAWALPINDI:
Nutritionists and dietitians on Sunday stressed the need to formulate a National Nutrition Policy (NNP) to raise awareness about the importance of nutrition and its impact on the health of present and future generations.
They were speaking at a seminar organized by the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics (MDN), National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) to celebrate the ‘Nutrition Month of March’, celebrated worldwide on the theme “Fuel for the future”. »
Dr. Abdul Momin Rizwan, Head of Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, NUMS, in his speech said that it was imperative to have a National Nutrition Policy (NNP) for a country like Pakistan as it was facing a triple burden of malnutrition, including overnutrition, undernutrition and hidden malnutrition. hunger (micronutrient deficiencies), extremely widespread in the country.
These issues can be addressed through the NNP which will be executed at the national and provincial levels with clear guidelines and objectives.
He said good work, in bits and pieces, was being done in the public and private sectors, but it was not producing the desired results to eradicate malnutrition.
Shahid Fazal, nutrition expert and regional advisor at Nutritional International, an international non-governmental organization, said consensus on the NNP among provinces was necessary for the formulation of such a policy to ensure uniformity in its implemented at the provincial level to achieve the set objective. goals.
Referring to a report launched by the Pakistan Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Secretariat at the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform, in collaboration with the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), Shahid Fazal said that the The consequences of malnutrition cost Pakistan $7.6 billion per person. year.
Dr Umar Farooq of NUMS said that if the available data were analyzed, 50 percent of Pakistan’s population would suffer from some sort of nutrient deficiency.
He said unstoppable urbanization and shrinking production areas in the country would increase food security concerns and non-communicable diseases. The problem of malnutrition, with its many facets, must be addressed at the national level.
The Senior Policy Advisor of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) said that under the chairmanship of the planning commission, some policy work had started and GAIN was also helping them to develop the NNP which is expected to be finalized This year.
Once formulated, the NNP would be submitted to the Council of Common Interest for approval, which would give it acceptance and recognition at the national level, Faiz Rasool said.
He called for the inclusion of youth as well as the implications of climate change in the food security policy to ensure its success. He said work was underway to include nutrition-related subjects at the grassroots level as some educational institutions had offered nutrition-related subjects.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 20th2023.
