ISLAMABAD: Health experts at a seminar while stressing the need for investing in humans especially mother-care and childcare sectors have revealed that malnutrition related issues annually are costing Pakistan $17 billion which is equal to one percent of global yearly income.
This was revealed in a media briefing by senior officials of Nutrition International (NI) Dr Irfanullah and Dr Irshad Danish here on Wednesday.
They said that according to Nutrition International’s Cost of Inaction Tool, malnutrition costs Pakistan over $17 billion annually due to productivity losses, healthcare expenses, and reduced cognitive potential in children.
Pakistan faces some of the highest rates of malnutrition globally as according to the National Nutrition Survey (NNS) 2018, 40 percent of children under five suffer from stunted growth, which leads to impaired physical and cognitive development, 18 percent of children under five suffer from wasting (low weight-for-height), putting them at severe risk of mortality, over 50 percent of adolescent girls are anaemic, impacting their health, academic performance, and future maternal outcomes and 42 percent of women of reproductive age are anaemic, increasing pregnancy complications and maternal mortality.
Failure to address malnutrition has profound socio-economic consequences as malnutrition is not just a health issue but it is one of the key barriers to Pakistan’s socio- economic development. It affects human capital, weakens workforce productivity, and increases healthcare costs, ultimately hindering economic growth and national stability.
Malnutrition impacts Pakistan’s progress in multiple ways: Malnutrition in early life impairs cognitive development, lowers academic performance, and increases dropout rates, limiting future employment opportunities.
As these children grow into adults with reduced cognitive and physical capacity, their earning potential declines leading to a less productive workforce, lower household incomes, and slower GDP growth.
Poor nutrition among women leads to pregnancy complications, maternal mortality, and a cycle of poor health that affects families and future generations. High rates of stunting, wasting, anaemia, and non-communicable diseases put immense pressure on Pakistan’s already strained healthcare system, diverting resources from other essential services.
They urged the government of Pakistan to effectively present Pakistan’s malnutrition case at the upcoming Nutrition for Growth (N4G) summit 2025 in Paris which can be a pivotal moment for Pakistan to reaffirm its commitment to ending malnutrition, drive policy action, and secure increased financing for lasting impact.
The summit also allows Pakistan to align with global priorities, including nutrition’s link to health, food systems, climate resilience, gender equality, and financing, while showcasing achievements, while showcasing progress, addressing challenges, and accelerating momentum. By engaging with global partners, Pakistan can strengthen collaboration and secured global support to implement its nutrition agenda.
They said that key nutrition commitments the government can make at the N4G Summit Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments have the opportunity to make impactful commitments at N4G 2025 by focusing on the following priorities: (i) Recognising nutrition as a fundamental right by embedding it in the constitution to ensure long-term prioritisation in national policies; (ii) Increasing domestic financing for nutrition by allocating more resources to nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programmes; (iii) Scaling up costed multi-sectoral nutrition plans with clear targets, accountability measures, and coordination across sectors for effective implementation; (iv) Strengthening food fortification initiatives by enacting the National and Punjab Food Fortification Law, and ensuring compliance through regulations, industry incentives, and enforcement mechanisms; (v) Integrating essential nutrition actions into all relevant health policies and Universal Health Coverage (UHC); (vi) Developing and implementing school health and nutrition programs to integrate essential nutrition, hygiene, and health interventions into the education system, ensuring improved learning outcomes and overall well-being for children and adolescents; (vii) Reinforcing social protection systems incorporate nutrition objectives and prioritise populations with the highest unmet nutritional needs, like pregnant women and children; (viii) Enforcing breastfeeding protection laws by ensuring compliance with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes (BMS) and national regulations; (ix) Investing in data, research, innovation, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance evidence-based decision-making and improve program effectiveness; (x) Prioritising safe and nutritious food production through nutrition sensitive climate-smart agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, and biofortification; (xi) Integrating nutrition into disaster preparedness and response plans, ensuring food security and micronutrient support during crises, and (xii) Addressing gender disparities in nutrition, recognizing the specific vulnerabilities of women and girls in food in emergencies and crises.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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