Better health care: Experts urge measures to end malnutrition

Say lack of nutrition kills, needs more attention; 44% children face stunted growth

PESHAWAR: Health experts in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have stressed on the need to focus and carry out concrete efforts to address the alarming issue of malnutrition. They termed the matter a much bigger problem than the ones people talk about often.

Doctors and other experts expressed these views at a day-long session on revised guidelines for Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) held at a local hotel in the city on Friday. Representatives of different donor and UN agencies also attended the session.



“People are facing issues such as lack of education and electricity but nutrition is a bigger problem as it involves children,” Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Nutrition Wing Director Dr Baseer Achakzai said.

“What do you think will happen in the next 10 years if a country’s stunting numbers stand at 44%? Polio should be focused upon but lack of nutrition kills and needs more attention.” Achakzai added the ministry will provide everything the K-P health department needed but it could only provide help when there was a dedicated team, among other things.

Plenty of aid

He pointed out UN agencies and donors, in competition with each other, wanted to facilitate more and more people and this was the time to benefit from their presence. Achakzai suggested provincial nutrition officers and community health workers should be involved in the programme, while paediatricians, gynaecologists, parliamentarians and local government representatives should also be reached for better results.

He told The Express Tribune the provincial government must have its own team and offer local resources to attract investment by donor agencies. He stated 15.1% children across the country were underweight but the situation in K-P was worse where at least 16% children were underweight.

While highlighting the matter, K-P integrated programme director Dr Ali Ahmad said the health department was well aware of the situation and ran its own integrated programme since a provincial nutrition cell was in place. He said capacity building of the health care providers in eight districts has begun and 20% lady health workers will be trained for Infant and Young Children Feeding (IYFC).

He added family planning and the nutrition programme was purely supported by the aiding partners.

The provincial nutrition coordinator Salma Khatoon shared the last survey was carried out in 2010 and according to the statistics, severe acute malnutrition in the province was at 4% to 5% (only registered cases) while moderate acute malnutrition stood at 10% to 12%.

Experts also said health policies were revised at intervals and urged the authorities to involve lady health workers in the process.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2016.