Health department: Malnutrition policy discussed

Malnutrition results in illness, impaired cognitive development, school dropouts and economic losses.

LAHORE: Addressing malnutrition is a priority for the Punjab government, said Farasat Iqbal, programme director for the Punjab Health Sector Programme, on Saturday. Iqbal was addressing a meeting of the Health Department Working Group set up to make recommendations on forming a nutrition policy. He said it was time to select the precise tools needed to address malnutrition, which caused huge economic and productivity losses.Dr Akhtar Rasheed, the convener of the working group, said that the first 1,000 days of life, from conception to age 24 months, determined a child’s learning and growth abilities. Adequate nutrition at this stage of life ensured optimum productivity while malnutrition resulted in illness, impaired cognitive development, school dropouts and economic losses. Munawar Hussain, programme manager of the Micronutrient Initiative, said that the Agriculture, Food, Education, Health and Social Protection Departments had formed technical sub groups to make recommendations on a multi-sectoral approach to combating malnutrition.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14^th, 2012.