ISLAMABAD: The National Nutrition Survey report ‘Cost of In Action Tool’ revealed that more than 41 percent of Pakistani women are anaemic, while 22.4 percent are vitamin A deficient.

The survey report was presented at the National Policy Dialogue on the Economic Case for Maternal Nutrition, organised by the Ministry of National Health Services, in collaboration with Nutrition International (NI).

A recent survey report highlights the malnutrition crisis among Pakistani women, ranking Pakistan 4th out of 8 South Asian countries and 35th out of 201 countries worldwide in terms of anaemia among women.

The report states that out of more than 41 percent of Pakistani women suffering from anaemia, 14.4 percent are underweight while 24 percent are overweight while 13.8 percent are obese. According to the report, 9 lakh 18 thousand 154 new cases of anaemia occur every year among pregnant women and women aged 15 to 49 years.

According to the survey report, the condition of maternal nutrition is bad, 186 women die after giving birth to 1 lakh children. Similarly, non-adherence to recommended standards in breastfeeding causes 2,000 maternal deaths from breast and ovarian cancer, 1,000 from ovarian cancer and about 100 deaths from diabetes each year. In addition, 1.4 lakh cases of low birth weight are reported in Pakistani women every year.

On this occasion, Nutrition International said that Pakistan loses at least 17 billion dollars every year due to malnutrition.

During the event, the federal government also signed a declaration with stakeholders, in which they pledged to accelerate the implementation of the ‘Pakistan Maternal Nutrition Strategy 2022-27’. This declaration has been endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Health, the Health Departments of the four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir and other stakeholders including WHO, UNICEF, WFP and others.

Department of Health officials, government officials and international organizations have urged the government to meet its commitments on maternal nutrition, aligning national guidelines with international standards. He has also demanded the concerned departments to prepare a comprehensive nutrition package on priority basis to tackle the crisis of maternal malnutrition in the country.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024