KARACHI: First Lady and MNA Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari has reaffirmed her strong support for the World Food Programme’s (WFP) efforts to achieve Zero Hunger in Pakistan and promised to lend her voice to advocacy and public-awareness initiatives supporting nutrition and food security nationwide.

She said this while talking to a delegation of the WFP, led by its Country Director Anita Hirsch, which called on her here on Wednesday.

Senator Sherry Rehman, Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah and Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab were also present during the meeting.

According to a statement, Ms Bhutto-Zardari was briefed on WFP’s work in nutrition, food security, school meals and climate resilience, particularly its collaboration under the Benazir Nashonuma Programme (BNP).

Since its inception, BNP has reached over three million women and children nationwide, including more than 1.7 million beneficiaries across Sindh.

The delegation also highlighted WFP’s $40 million School Meals Programme, targeting 100,000 children in 614 government schools in Malir and Keamari, as well as interventions addressing acute malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and climate resilience.

The first lady underscored the importance of the Benazir Nashonuma Programme and its complementarity with the mandates of UN agencies working in Pakistan, particularly towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger.

Stressing the need for an integrated approach to maternal and child health, breastfeeding, immunisation, nutrition, early childhood development and the reduction of infant mortality and stunting, she highlighted the importance of accessible paediatric healthcare, including the work of the ChildLife Foundation, and called for greater national attention to population growth and its implications for health, education and development.

Welcoming WFP’s School Meals Programme, she expressed particular interest in centralised kitchen models and proposed greater emphasis on school-based agriculture and kitchen gardens, allowing children to learn about nutrition, agriculture and healthy food through practical experience.

Referring to the devastating floods of 2022, she emphasised Pakistan’s climate vulnerability and the importance of moving from disaster response towards early warning, anticipatory action and community resilience.

The WFP delegation briefed Ms Bhutto-Zardari on anticipatory action, disaster-risk financing, early-warning systems, climate-resilient agriculture and measures to protect livelihoods and livestock from natural disasters.

The first lady reaffirmed her strong support for WFP’s efforts towards achieving Zero Hunger in Pakistan and assured the delegation that she would lend her voice to advocacy and public-awareness initiatives supporting nutrition and food security nationwide.

She also expressed her continued support for WFP’s ShareTheMeal initiative, to which she has personally contributed, and stressed the importance of sustained cooperation between the government, the UN and development partners to ensure that Pakistan’s most vulnerable women and children have access to adequate nutrition, healthcare and education.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2026