MUZAFFARABAD, Jan 30: A recent national survey conducted under the aegis of federal government reveals that malnutrition continues to be a major public health issue in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) according to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) health indicators, an official said.

One of the key findings of National Nutrition Survey, conducted during February to July last year, was that level of chronic malnutrition (stunting) in AJK was recorded at 31.7 per cent in children less than 5 years of age, Dr Adil Hameed, focal person for nutrition in AJK, told Dawn here on Monday. The figure suggested that malnutrition was a significant issue in the region though better than the level of chronic malnutrition at the national level which stood at 43.7 per cent, he said.

He said the rate of acute malnutrition (wasting) in AJK was almost 17.6 per cent. This was above the critical level of 15 per cent and as a result, a significant number of children were severely malnourished.

“If children remain malnourished for a prolonged period, they are susceptible to diseases, life-long stunting and cognitive impairment and are at a higher risk of mortality,” he said.

Continuing, he added the survey revealed gains in iodine deficiency but anaemia especially maternal anaemia, was at 42.2 per cent and other deficiencies, including that of Vitamin A, remained very high. It also provided evidence that Vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women was a major public health problem across the country including several areas in AJK.

Dr Hameed said the survey had also disclosed that on the average almost 57.1 per cent of the households in AJK were food-insecure – meaning that they lacked access to adequate quantity of food. As a result, more than one fourth of the children in AJK were underweight and the situation for children in rural areas was worse, he said.

He apprised the survey results would feed into effective planning around nutrition needs in AJK and monitoring progress towards targets to help the most vulnerable children and women.“Malnutrition is treatable and many initiatives have already been launched to combat the needless suffering of children, but more concerted and sustained efforts arerequired,” he said.

It may be recalled that the national nutrition survey is the largest of its type to have been conducted in Pakistan on maternal and child nutrition. It has significant relevance to post-devolution planning.