He stated this while addressing the launching ceremony of report of National Nutrition Survey. The ceremony was attended by federal secretaries, members of Planning Commission, provincial DGs health and representatives of international partner agencies.
Ahsan Iqbal lauded the role and tireless efforts of experts, staffers of ministry of planning and development, international partners and provincial governments for providing valuable input to compile the report.
He said that National Nutrition Survey report has provided a platform to set priorities and also chalk a course for improvement in the situation.
The minister said the survey indicated key findings regarding malnutrition in mothers and children.
Ahsan Iqbal said that Pakistan is food surplus country but certain reasons like poverty, high food prices, inequity, inaccessibility, unawareness were creating hurdles to remove the malnutrition.
It should be mentioned that World Health Organization (WHO) has reported hunger and related malnutrition as greatest single threat to public health. Under-nutrition has shown to be an important concern in women, children and elderly people.
The health experts said that because of pregnancies and breastfeeding, woman have additional nutrient requirements. Children can’t be risked for malnutrition even before birth, as their nutrition levels are directly related with nutrition of their mothers, they added.