Speakers at seminar on National Healthy Diet Policy demanded the government to ensure holistic consultations with all stakeholders including the youth and women to ensure robust policy document intended to curb growing child diseases.
The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) organized the seminar titled “From Concept to Action: Food Pathways Through Healthy Diet Policy” here on Thursday. In her presentation on the title theme by KhansaNaeem, Associate Researcher SDPI informed the participants that 37.6% of children under 5 years of age were stunted while 7.1% children under the age of 5 were wasted whereas obesity was recorded among 7.5% of women and men in the country. She added that diet is an important component of health that has less focus of the masses and stakeholders. In his remarks, DrShahzad Ali Khan, Vice Chancellor and Dean Health Services Academy said unhealthy diet has emerged as a universal phenomenon in Pakistan, whereas there is no convincing model to persuade poor population on quitting unhealthy diet. He added that bad eating habits and lifestyle has created universalization of poor and unhealthy diet across the country.
He said Pakistan has a law on Breast feeding for mothers to administer their milk to babies for two years and banned advertisement of mother’s formula milk. “According to a survey, 72% women are feeding formula milk and 90% of those respondents claimed that their doctors had prescribed them which is illegal as per the law. SDPI should take the lead to incorporate a right-based approach component in the policy on breast feeding,” DrShahzad Khan said.
He informed that there was 11% more risk of contracting diarrhea among children who were not fed mother’s milk. It should be declared as the fundamental right of the baby to get human milk through breast feeding, he added. He added that 72% health of an individual is determined by the diet nutrition intake. “Healthy diet policy is an im Pakistan, he said is currently having double burden of infectious and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). He mentioned that the problem of unhealthy diet was highly prevalent in upper income groups along with lower income groups.
He urged the stakeholders to ensure effective advocacy and communication campaigns to manage bad advertisements promoting unhealthy diets.
