Top News

Pakistan’s childhood malnutrition crisis is threatening future human capital, with nearly four in 10 children suffering from chronic malnutrition. Around 40.2% of children under five were stunted, according to the National Nutrition Survey 2018. Factors including food poverty, rising prices, poor sanitation, infections and limited healthcare access continue to worsen the situation.

New Delhi, Aug 17: Pakistan’s economic policy debate has long centred on inflation, public debt, taxation, exports and the energy crisis. But beneath these recurring challenges lies a deeper problem that could have lasting consequences for the country’s economic future -- widespread childhood malnutrition and the damage it causes to human capital, a report has said.

Childhood malnutrition crisis

Nearly four in every 10 Pakistani children suffer from chronic malnutrition, according to The Express Tribune report. According to the National Nutrition Survey 2018, around 40.2 per cent of children under the age of five in Pakistan were stunted, a level that has remained stubbornly high for more than two decades. Recent assessments by Unicef and the World Bank indicate that progress has been limited despite repeated policy commitments.

Stunting is not simply a measure of a child being shorter than expected for their age. It reflects prolonged nutritional deprivation during the earliest stages of life, particularly the first 1,000 days from conception to a child’s second birthday. This period is critical for brain development, immunity, learning ability and future productivity, making prolonged undernutrition a potential setback that can extend well into adulthood.