Health education is the key to implement poverty reduction, income distribution, employment, nutrition and social protection plans, as all these issues are inter-related.
Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh Federal Minister for Privatisation and Investment stated this while chairing meeting of the ninth five year plan committee on poverty reduction here on Thursday.
Dr Hafeez Shaikh, who is also chairman of the committee said that as per Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) latest survey based on the death samples of 1,200 people, 50 percent of infant mortality and child death caused by malnutrition, increase in under weight children due to 45 percent iron deficiency in women caused by food deficit in terms of availability demanded for an effective and integrated poverty reduction, income distribution, employment, nutrition and social protection reduction program.
The minister reiterated the importance of providing well-defined targets with clear monitor able indicators in each of the sectors of the plan. He said that care should be taken to ensure synergy amongst the various interventions being proposed within holistic framework.
The strategic prioritisation of the poverty reduction issues to address in the plan should keep in view the overall resource envelope, he added.
He expressed concern over the worsening trends in nutritional status especially of the vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant, lactating women. He asked for the better integration of the sub-strategy on improving nutritional status with other main elements of the plan.
He highlighted the importance of addressing both inter and intra personal and regional income inequalities and the need for identifying innovative employment generation strategies especially in the rural areas to increase the income of the poor and reduce overall inequalities. The meeting also reviewed the status of the work of the different sub-committee.
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