The National Nutrition Survey (NNS) 2011, which was released this week, has revealed that the government has failed to make any progress towards achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, for which it had signed the Millennium Declaration in 2001. With only three years left, the NNS 2011 disclosed that achieving these MGDs, especially in Sindh, has now become impossible.
The NNS 2011 is jointly prepared by UNICEF and the Aga Khan University. According to the survey, 72 percent of the total population in Sindh is facing food insecurity or in simple words they do not have sufficient food as per the standards. The majority of these people comprise women, expectant mothers or children. The MGDs were set to bring make their lives better. But apparently, the Pakistani government only made commitments with the international community by signing the Millennium Declaration, but practically did nothing at the grassroots level.
The eight goals Pakistan adopted were: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and women empowerment, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases and ensure environment sustainability and develop a global partnership for development. The MDGs were adopted by the international community as a framework for the development activities of over 190 countries in 10 regions. They have been articulated into over 20 targets and over 60 indicators.
Pakistan, being a signatory to Millennium Declaration, is bound to achieve the eight important MDGs, but several reports by international donor agencies reveal that Pakistan lags behind other South Asian countries. The NNS 2011 disclosed shocking figures, especially for Sindh. Despite the fact that it is an agricultural province, it is the poorest and the most food-deprived province of the country. Due to floods in 2010 and 2011, poverty has reached an extreme level in the province and all the indicators of international institutions have hit a dangerous level.
The NNS 2011 survey also revealed that little has changed in the province over the last decade in terms of core maternal and childhood nutrition indicators. The indicators of basic healthcare are worse than average. A large number of people in Sindh are without access to fresh drinking water while children under five years of age are suffering from abdominal diseases and diarrhoea because of consuming contaminated water.
