KARACHI – The occasion highlighted Inter-provincial experience and progress review workshop held in a local hotel on Karachi. This has provided a unique opportunity to Nutrition champions and implementers to exchange best practices, success stories, bottlenecks, lesson learned and way forward to further strengthen the implementation of Nutrition intervention across Pakistan.
Dr Waqar Memon (Program Director, NSP) gave the welcome remarks. He mentioned that NSP aims to reduce the prevalence of Acute malnutrition among children 6-59 months and anemia in women of reproductive age and improving and improving the Infant Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices in children up to two years. These would be achieved by community and facility-based interventions coupled with mass media behavior change communication in local and national languages through short documentaries, dramas, TV commercials and many other creative means.
He further added proposed eestablishment of one unit for implementation of Nutrition services all over the province, inclusion of OTPs in regular cost centres and expanding the network of frontline workers for outreach activities as a way forward message that have policy implications
Special secretary Dr. Asghar Memon highlighted multi sectoral action for preventing Malnutrition
Dr. Amir Ali Samnani also communicated the big news that Nutrition Support Program in relation with Zeekay Films has developed a cinematic movie with named TALAASH JAHRI HAI going to be launch soon, which has covered multiple issues and bottlenecks to combat the malnutrition issues in Pakistan. He further added the importance of media in effectively tackling the challenge of malnutrition and urged media to play their role in fight against malnutrition. Media can be a vital force in influencing the behaviors of communities. He further mentioned that soon the contribution of Sindh for Pakistan will not only occupy Pakistani cinema but will be released Internationally.
It must be noted that the project is being implemented through Provincial Nutrition Cell, Department of Health, Government of Sindh with the following implementing partners PPHI, LHWs, MNCH and NGOs in LHW un-covered areas in the community.
