A three-day learning event on nutrition-sensitive social protection opened s in Islamabad, convened under the Global Task Force on Social Protection for Nutrition. The event is co-hosted by the Governments of Pakistan and Timor-Leste, with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) serving as Secretariat of the Global Task Force and facilitating collaboration among governments and partners.
During the event, delegates from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Nepal, Niger, Timor-Leste and Pakistan exchanged lessons, evidence and innovations to integrate nutrition effectively into national social protection systems.
The dialogue aims to build shared commitment to making social protection policies and programmes more nutrition-focused. Delegates will review practical examples, explore new approaches, and identify actions to accelerate progress against malnutrition at national and global levels. As host country, Pakistan is showcasing its leadership in social protection and nutrition, offering lessons that resonate across the region, through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), a globally recognised model for poverty reduction and nutrition-sensitive social protection. Its flagship Benazir Nashonuma Programme, launched in 2020 by the Government of Pakistan with support from WFP, UNICEF, and WHO, focuses on preventing stunting – impaired growth and development in young children due to malnutrition – targeting pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under two. A recent evaluation by Aga Khan University, a leading health sciences institution based in Karachi, found stunting at six months of age to be 20 percent lower among Nashonuma beneficiaries – some of the strongest nutrition outcomes ever recorded at scale.
