Malnutrition is on the rise in Pakistan.

Malnutrition remains a major worry in Pakistan, with disastrous effects for the country’s health and prosperity.

Combating malnutrition is critical not just for the individual health of its residents, but also for the country’s general advancement and prosperity.

According to a health economics study conducted by Aga Khan University, the yearly income loss owing to micronutrient deficiencies is around US$ 3 billion, or 1.33% of GDP. The direct medical expenditures of micronutrient deficiencies (in children aged 6 to 23 months) are projected to be US$ 19 million.

While these data depict the economic effects of malnutrition in Pakistan, the World Bank estimates that more than 40% of children under the age of five are stunted, a condition characterised by impeded growth and development.

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Micronutrient deficits, such as iron, iodine, and vitamin A, are also common.

Iron deficiency can result in anaemia, growth and development problems, cognitive and behavioural challenges, reduced immune systems, exhaustion, general tiredness, and other impacts that impair children’s capacity to live a healthy and prosperous life.

While several causes contribute to Pakistan’s current malnutrition epidemic, some of them can be ascribed to poverty, restricted access to nutritious food, and insufficient healthcare infrastructure.

Simultaneously, there is a lack of information about healthy nutrition, as well as socio-cultural practises such as early marriages, gender inequalities, and inadequate nursing practises, which contribute to malnutrition in Pakistan. Addressing this issue demands a multifaceted strategy.

Strengthening healthcare systems, encouraging exclusive breastfeeding, increasing the use of fortified products, ensuring agricultural and food safety, increasing nutrition education, encouraging behaviour change, reducing poverty, and facilitating public-private partnerships that actively work on all of these fronts can help to reduce malnutrition in the country.

The remedy must also be targeted at different age groups, particularly children, and can take the form of reinforced nutrition solutions.

A massive challenge like this demands numerous stakeholders in health, food, agriculture, education, and social welfare to join hands, collaborate, and redirect their resources towards reducing malnutrition.