In response to the rising malnutrition crisis in Sindh, a two-year support action, funded by the European Union, aimed at strengthening community based organizations in 5 districts of Sindh to combat malnutrition was launched at a ceremony in Karachi.
The initiative aims at addressing malnutrition in five adversely affected districts of Kashmore, Ghotki, Sukkur, Khairpur, and Nosheroferoze in Sindh province. The 6 million EUR project, co-funded by the European Union, will be implemented jointly by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), Medical Emergency Resilience Foundation (MERF) and the Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO). Speaking at the event Mr Carlo De Rosa, Development Advisor for Rural Development and Nutrition at the EU delegation to Pakistan, said that “from global experiences it is well established that ensuring nutrition security requires a collaborative, multi-sectoral approach that involves diverse stakeholders, with local CSOs playing an integral role”.
He further stated that the project will improve the quality and coverage of interventions, foster synergies for ‘nutrition-specific’ approaches and will ultimately provide an enabling environment to shape political, institutional and policy processes for addressing malnutrition. Shabnam Baloch (Country Director, IRC Pakistan) in her remarks acknowledged European Union for their financial assistance to carry forward nutrition agenda and noted that “Cultivating a future free from malnutrition requires us to harness the strength and wisdom of local civil society organizations.
