Sindh health dept, IRC join forces to tackle malnutrition

KARACHI:

Sindh Minister for Health, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Sindh health department and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to combat malnutrition in the province. The collaboration aims at employing a simplified, cost-effective approach by mobilising community health workers beyond traditional health facilities.

The IRC and its partners have developed and tested a simplified treatment protocol that utilises a single product, supply chain, and delivery location while streamlining diagnosis and doses. Numerous researchers have demonstrated this approach's effectiveness and cost efficiency, which can be implemented by community health workers, reaching areas that lack formal health facilities.

Under the MoU, the IRC will assist the health department in devising and implementing a tailored, evidence-based plan. The plan will focus on expanding child-wasting treatment services, promoting research uptake, and translating evidence into practice. The ultimate goal is to scale up nutrition programming in Sindh and address the high nutritional requirements of children under five.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2023.