EDITORIAL: Various surveys conducted by international agencies show that nearly 40 percent of children under five years of age in this country suffer from stunted growth, yet there is no serious attempt to address this crisis-like situation.
In its recently released comparative analysis Save the Children, a child rights organisation, says at least 18.2 million children were born into hunger in 2024, a significant increase from 2018 when the number was 14.5 million and rose to 15.3 million the next year.
Similar are the findings of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation. As per its data the number of children born into hunger rose by around 5 percent in 2024 compared to a year earlier, and 19 percent more than the 15.3 million recorded in 2019.
Some of the regression may be attributable to population displacements caused by conflict in the tribal region and extreme weather events, such as the 2022 floods that hit vast swathes of the country and had the worst impact in the rural areas of Sindh, where an estimated 50 percent of the children are said to have faced lack of food.
Exacerbating the problem during the last couple of years has been the ever-increasing cost of living, including the skyrocketing prices of basic food items.
Notwithstanding the current economic difficulties, policy initiatives must be undertaken on an emergency basis to address the issue, which impedes a child’s mental and physical development, limiting their ability to realise full potential and in turn impinges on the country’s socio-economic growth prospects.
So far, focus of the few and far between efforts to reduce stunting has been on improving nutrition for school-going children.
Aside from making available good quality and balanced nutrition to all, equally important, say experts, is provision of clean drinking water and sanitation facilities. Required also are mitigation and adaptation strategies to deal with extreme weather events brought on by global climate change.
This may be a tall order, and beyond our means at this point in time. Some of the issues, nevertheless, can be addressed if our policymakers realise that leaving so many children behind, unfair as it is, also obstructs overall economic development.
One important step in the right direction would be for the provincial governments to cede administrative control and financial autonomy to local governments so they can improve conditions for populations in the most disadvantaged areas, like southern Punjab and rural Sindh.
Needless to say, exclusive policies only perpetuate the problem of poverty. Provision of basic services to the deprived people, including education, healthcare and sanitation facilities as well as redress of other local issues at local level can diminish stunting, and benefit the national endeavour towards progress and prosperity.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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