ISLAMABAD: A workshop was held on Monday to take stock of the Ehsaas programme’s progress, successes and lessons learnt across 14 districts to upscale it nationwide.

Representatives from the field teams of Ehsaas Nashonuma in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, KP, AJK and GB participated in the workshop along with experts from the World Food Programme.

Speaking on the occasion, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Senator Dr Sania Nishtar said the federal government had planned to scale up Ehsaas Nashonuma to overcome common health problems like stunting, underweight and overweight in children under two years of age, especially in underprivileged areas of the country.

She said the government would extend it to the whole country, especially to underprivileged areas. Keeping in view the difficult terrains across Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Ehsaas is also looking into the possibility of introducing mobile Ehsaas Nashonuma centers, she added.

More than 66,000 pregnant and lactating women, and children under two years of age have been registered for nutrition support under the Ehsaas programme.

The main purpose of the programme is to prevent stunting, underweight, overweight and other complications mostly prevailing in pregnant and lactating women and children from poor families in backward areas who, due to their pressing poverty, could not have access to proper food and, as a result, develop health complications.

At present, there are as many as 50 nutritional (Nashonuma) centres in 14 districts of Punjab, Sindh, KP, Balochistan, Islamabad, AJK and GB which are considered to have stunted population.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2021