KARACHI, Dec 22: Experts attending a four-day national symposium on nutrition, which concluded here on Monday, recommended population planning, universal salt iodization, and exclusive breastfeeding for six months as significant factors for the improvement of mother and child health in Pakistan.

The symposium was organized by the nutrition section of health ministry in collaboration with the Aga Khan University, Unicef and Micronutrient Initiative. At the symposium several maternal and child nutrition as well as survival packages were presented.

At the symposium, entitled “National Nutrition Strategy: Planning for the Future”, the experts said Pakistan had an alarming rate of malnutrition that particularly affected women and children, leading to morbidity with repeated infections and an increase in mortality. Almost 54 per cent of young children deaths in the developing world were due to malnutrition, they said.

The health experts said although the special nutritional needs for women during their reproductive age, especially during pregnancy and lactation, were well recognized, it was precisely such women who were malnourished in Pakistan, with strikingly high rates of anaemia and wasting.

Problems reviewed at the symposium included malnutrition, iron deficiency, anaemia and micronutrient deficiencies in the population. The symposium provided an opportunity to address the key nutritional issues in Pakistan and to bring together national and provincial policy-makers, health agencies as well as national and international experts on nutrition.

In his speech at the closing ceremony, Federal Health Secretary Ejaz Rahim said the ministry of health was willing to provide leadership and ownership to improve nutrition in Pakistan. He added that nutrition involved not only the health ministry, but also other stakeholders because it required several other interventions, such as poverty alleviation, women’s empowerment, family planning, safe environment and water.

“In order to do that, the health ministry will create a directorate of nutrition to bring all stakeholders together,” he stated. It was critical to

involve the civic societies and NGOs, which were operational at district levels, he said, and added that he was looking for recommendations in this regard.

Dr Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, professor in paediatrics department of AKU, summarizing the recommendations from the symposium, suggested the need for education and literacy promotion initiatives, ensuring nutrition was central to the development agenda, poverty alleviation strategies, food security at all levels, and district level governance and involvement in decision-making.

Other speakers at the concluding ceremony included the Dean of AKU’s Medical College, Dr Mohammad Khurshid; Deputy DG Nutrition of health ministry, Dr Haroon J. Khan; and Dr Rafah Aziz of the Unicef Pakistan.