Half of Sindh’s children suffer from stunted growth

Health and child rights expert express concern over acute food shortage across province

KARACHI: Nearly half of the children under the age of five years suffer from stunted growth, said health and child rights experts, while expressing concern over acute food shortage across the province.

Sharing a research presentation at a meeting organised on Wednesday by Scaling Up Civil Society Alliance Pakistan (SUN-CSA, Pak) and Nutrition International with support from Health and Nutrition Development Society (Hands),  they demanded implementation of the 'inter sectorial nutrition strategy' made by the government around three years ago and enforcement of the Sindh Protection and Promotion of Breastfeeding Act to overcome the acute malnutrition
problem in Sindh.

During the four-hour-long discussion on the issue, the participants pledged to play their role in prioritising nutrition at the policy level in Sindh and raise public awareness on the adverse effects of malnutrition.

Speaking on the occasion, Hands Chief Executive Officer Dr Sheikh Tanveer Ahmed said that nearly half of the children under five years of age in Sindh are stunted due to chronic malnutrition, a condition that has lifelong consequences on their physical and mental development.  He said the media, considered as the fourth pillar of the state, can play a powerful and active role through sustained focus on nutrition reporting. He urged the media to highlight the issue of malnutrition.