KARACHI: Sindh Governor Imran Ismail has said it was the need of hour that public and private sectors should come together to eliminate the stunting crisis in Pakistan, which had been caused by malnutrition, resulting in stunted/impaired growth in the children of Pakistan.
This he said while celebrating the power of milk on World Milk Day along with children of SoS village in collaboration with Engro Food Limited at Governor’s House here today. Ismail said: “Every Pakistani child has a right to healthy nutrition, as reportedly, 45% of the children in Pakistan are facing stunted growth due to malnutrition. The public and private sector need to play their roles in countering this challenge. We appreciate Engro Foods commitment to provide better nutrition to Pakistan.
He said: “It shows their dedication towards a healthier and stronger nation. I am sure that private and public sector stakeholders will continue to play their role in fighting the challenges of stunting and malnutrition. I urge the Sind Food Authority to implement Minimum Pasteurization Law across Sindh just like it is done in other province. We as a nation need to ensure safe and healthy growth of our children.”
He said: “It is their right. Give the children of Pakistan the right of growth that they deserve! Once the children of our nation are strong, the future of our nation will be strong.
Nageen Rizvi, Head of Corporate Communications & Sustainability Engro Foods Limited, said: “Engro Foods remains committed to providing safe dairy products to the Pakistani consumers. It is imperative to build awareness about the multiple health issues that emerge from consuming the unreliable quality of loose-milk available in Pakistan. The low-consumption of safe and healthy milk among children has resulted in leaving half of Pakistani children malnourished and stunted their growth. Pakistan is losing a complete generation.”
This initiative is an effort to build awareness about the gravity of malnutrition and stunting crisis in Pakistan. Engro Foods being one of the foremost dairy nutrition expert in Pakistan remains committed to providing safe and better nutrition to Pakistan. We have and we will continue to play our role in building our nation stronger”. This initiative was called ‘Celebrating the Power of Milk”. It is essential to highlight that in spite of being the 3rd largest milk producing country, Pakistan still remains the Second Most Malnourished Country in Asia, it has the lowest ranking among 119 developing countries in the Global Hunger Index, lagging behind our neighbors and some states from Africa.
Pakistan is the world’s fifth-most-populous country in the world and the children of Pakistan make 42% of its population. In Pakistan, the children from low socio economic sectors do not have access to drink two glasses of safe milk every day, which is the basic nutritional requirement for every child. Due to malnutrition and insufficient dairy intake, 45% of Pakistani children are suffering from impaired body or stunted growth. Loose milk currently consumed by 90% of the market is filled with adulteration and does not have any food safety checks on it. Hence, it does not fulfill the needs of a human body. It is imperative to ensure that the milk consumed by the people of Pakistan is safe and it should be made available in the market after food safety checks. The unprocessed open milk available in the market has high aflatoxin levels, which makes it hazardous for consumption and can lead to liver failure and cancer.
