Pak-Korea nutrition centre at UAF to tackle malnutrition issue

Project will help varsity ensure better mother and child health

A Pak-Korea nutrition centre would be set up at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, to help the country tackle malnutrition, a major cause of poor health among people.

The announcement was made by Dr Jahen Kim, a Korean visiting for an international seminar on the role of nutrition in mother and child health. The event was organised by the National Institute of Food Science and Technology, in collaboration with Pakistan Society of Food Scientists and Technologists as well as the Pakistan Nutrition and Dietetic Society. It was held at the NIFSAT Seminar Room on Friday.

A five-year project, worth $7 million, would be set up with the help of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

He said this project would help the varsity ensure mother and child health and make the nation a productive and healthy one. He said such measures could add 3% to the GDP instead of billions being spent on treating health-related problems.

UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Ashraf (HI, SI) described the proposed centre as a key initiative of Pak-Korea friendship under its internationalisation programs.

He said the varsity would be signing MoUs with international organisations to expand its foreign networking. He said a full-fledged centre of health and nutrition will become a hub of promising activities to deal with the issues of malnutrition and health-related problems.

He expressed his dismay over the poor health and nutrition index of the country. He stressed upon diversifying food resources by not only banking on wheat and rice. He pointed out wheat was deficient in iron, zinc and important amino-acids and the same was the case with rice.

“We need to fulfill the requirements of having a substantial amount of 10 essential amino acids that will only be ensured by changing the food habits and priorities,” he said.

Citing the example of Chinese people, he said they had made some headway by switching over to maize which had a high crop yield of three times a year.

“The government is emphasising on nutrition in its Ehsaas Programme.” He voiced hope that with the help of this centre, the country would be able to complement government efforts to control growing malnutrition.

Dean Faculty of Food Sciences, Nutrition and Home Sciences Dr Masood Sadiq Butt said 50% of the population was facing malnutrition. “Education on nutritive and balanced food at the school level will help overcome the issue.”

He said healthy food was essential for the mental and physical growth of students. He urged people to maintain a balanced diet and continue with physical activities in their daily lives.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14^th, 2019.