Coordinated efforts required to tackle stunting

K-P’s planners say current pace of efforts would take 25 years to overcome problem

PESHAWAR: With stunting one of the major challenges facing the country — with over half the children in the country suffering from it — the reduction in the stunting ratio across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has prompted the planning department to urge relevant departments to include schemes to further improve the situation.

K-P Planning and Development Department officials have stated that the stunting ratio for children in the province has fallen from 47% to 42% over the last five years.

However, the official added, it will take them 25 years to overcome the problem.



“Every second child is stunted and if there is one complete ‘stunted’ generation, it does not only have an impact on the upcoming generations but on the economy as well,” said Iqbal Khan, the coordinator for the Planning and Development cell for Scaling-Up Nutrition (SUN).

In a ceremony to launch the Nutrition Policy Gap Analysis, speakers stressed the need for using home grown vegetables avoiding chemicals, fertilisers and pesticide besides junk food.



Dr Idrees Masood, chief at the planning and development department, stated that nutrition had been neglected in the past but it was not the case anymore where at the same time stressed upon awareness among the general public.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2018.