LAHORE: Speakers at a two-day workshop held here on Monday expressed their concern at the rising malnutrition in the country.

The event was organised by Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and National Fortification Alliance (NFA) for the laboratory staff of Pakistan and Afghanistan, says a release.

Around 70 experts, practitioners and policy makers from Pakistan and Afghanistan participated in the opening ceremony.

GAIN Country Manager Sajjad Imran said results of the 2011 National Nutrition Survey revealed an alarming situation of malnutrition in the country. “We need to improve the access to nutritious food to each and every person of this country.”

PML-N MPA Dr. Alia Aftab said the provincial government had amended rules for mandatory fortification of wheat flour with iron and folic acid and its enforcement would take effect from September 2015.

Anjum Ishaq of Pakistan Flour Mills Association said PFMA partnered with GAIN to start wheat flour fortification in Punjab. “This training would help us produce quality fortified wheat flour with iron and folic acid.”

Representative of Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacture Association, Umer Islam, said the oil milling industry was lacking capacity for adequate fortification with Vitamin A and this training would be a great step towards improving quality assurance and quality control of fortified oil and vegetable fats.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2015

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