Minister of State and BISP Chairperson Marvi Memon visited Rahim Yar Khan Saturday where she was briefed on research on the effectiveness of a nutrition programme involving specialised nutritious foods (SNF), cash based transfers and behaviour change communication (BCC) to prevent stunting among children in the district.
Research is being carried out by World Food Programme (WFP) in collaboration with BISP, Integrated Reproductive Mother Neonatal Child Health (IRMNCH) Programme Punjab and Agha Khan University. The research which will be concluded in 2019 would be showcased to the world for best practices and is thus the focus of much international attention.
Speaking to the officials of WFP, Punjab Health Department, Agha Khan University and BISP beneficiaries, Marvi stated that food insecurity was matter of high concern as 44pc of children in Pakistan, 39pc in Punjab and 42pc in Rahim Yar Khan less than 5 years of age were stunted. This alarming situation needed to be tackled at the earliest. She added that BISP was taking lead in war against stunting as this research would provide a scalable sustainable model for integrating nutrition specific and sensitive approaches to BISP, the premier national social safety net of the country, thus furthering the gains in curbing malnutrition.
The chairperson added that as these children belonged to the poor segment of society being facilitated by BISP through its Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT), BISP’s role was pivotal in this fight against malnutrition.