Experts call for national nutrition policy

Say Pakistan faces triple burden of overnutrition, undernutrition and hidden hunger

RAWALPINDI:

Nutritionists and dietitians Sunday emphaised the need for formulation of a national nutrition policy (NNP) to raise awareness of the significance of nutrition and its impact on the health of present and future generations.

They were speaking at a seminar, organised by the National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS)’s Department of Nutrition and Dietetics (DND) to celebrate “March Nutrition Month” - being celebrated across the world with the theme “Fuel for the Future.”

Dr Abdul Momin Rizwan, Head of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at NUMS in his remarks said it was imperative to have National Nutrition Policy (NNP) for a country like Pakistan as it was facing a triple burden of malnutrition including overnutrition, undernutrition and hidden hunger (micronutrient deficiencies) which were extremely common in the country.

These issues can be addressed through NNP which will be executed at the national and provincial levels with clear guidelines and goals.

He said some good work in bits and pieces, was being done in the public and private sectors but that was not yielding desired results to root-out malnutrition.

Shahid Fazal, a nutrition expert and Regional Advisor at Nutritional International, an international Non-Governmental Organisation said that a consensus on NNP among the provinces was necessary for the formulation of such policy to ensure uniformity in its implementation at the provincial level to achieve the set goals.

Referring to a report launched by the Pakistan Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Secretariat at the Ministry of Planning Development & Reform, in collaboration with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Shahid Fazal said the consequences of malnutrition was costing Pakistan $7.6 billion per year.

Dr Umar Farooq of NUMS said if the available data was analysed, 50 per cent of the Pakistan population would be found to have some sort of nutrient deficiencies.

He said unstoppable urbanisation and reduction in the production areas in the country would increase food security issues and non-communicable diseases. The problem of malnutrition with its many facets needs to be tackled at the national level.

Senior policy advisor at 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 chalk out NNP which was expected to be finalised this year.

Once formulated, NNP would be put up to the Council of Common Interest for approval which would give it acceptance and recognition at the national level, said Faiz Rasool.

He called for the inclusion of the youth as well as the implications of climate change in the Food Security Policy for ensuring its success. He said there was some work going on to include nutrition subjects at the grassroots level as some educational institutions had offered nutrition-related subjects.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 20^th, 2023.