Need stressed to control causes of malnutrition

The acute malnutrition rate among children in southern Punjab is shocking, that is 16 percent, which is 1 percent more than high emergency threshold level set by World Health Organisation (WHO), while the rate of severe malnutrition associated with highest rates of mortality is 3.5 percent in the same area.
This was stated at the concluding session of a 5-Day training course on 'Nutrition In Emergency' (NIE), held under the auspices of National Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFSAT), University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF), in collaboration with the United Nations Children Fund (Unicef) at UAF Nestle Hall here. The session was chaired by UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Iqrar Ahmed Khan, while Unicef Representative, Fakhar-e-Alam, was the guest of honour on the occasion. Nifsat Director General Dr Faqir Muhammad Anjum was also present.
Dr Iqrar said that it is also alarming that according to a survey the literacy rate in Islamabad is 98 percent but awareness among the mothers regarding breast-feeding is at the lowest level, which is causing malnutrition in the children. The Vice Chancellor added that at this time more food is being produced but because of many factors like its availability, affordability and its distribution, people face problems to get it. He said that the eating habits play a pivotal role in the physical development of a person, and called for changing the habits keeping in view making it suitable to nutrition. Quoting an example, he said: "Now we take ice-cream, assuming that it contains milk, but it does not have anything like milk in it".
He stressed the need for educating the people about the issues of food security and malnutrition confronting the country. He urged the scientists to put their tangible efforts to counter the malnutrition by sensitising the public and making other possible efforts in this regard.
DG, Nifsat said that the WHO and Unicef have developed global strategy for infants and young children feeding in 2002 to revitalise world attention that the feeding practices have on the nutritional status, development and survival of infants. He said that malnutrition did not result simply from lack of food but a complex mix of factors. The factor work on a number of levels affecting population, household, and finally individuals.
The Unicef representative said that keeping in view climate changes and natural disasters, like floods that hit around 20 million people last year, the people should have to focus on agriculture and nutrition. He said that the country needs nutritional experts to cope with the ever-growing malnutrition in the country. He called for expediting the pace of efforts to reduce the high rate of chronic malnutrition and to improve the knowledge of the communities about issue. He said that the training is a step to overcome the issue.