In this regard, the Planning and Development Board Punjab has set key targets in nutrition and population which aims to achieve by 2025 through the Nutrition and Population Centre.
The Centre will carry out policy making, strategic planning and other interventions, stunting is to be reduced from the current 31.5 percent to 17.5 percent in 2025, wasting from the current 7.5 percent to 5 percent along with other crucial indicators of population growth rate and unmet needs of Family Planning etc.
The Multi-sectoral Nutrition Centre at the Planning and Development Board is being strengthened by including other sectors, such as population, and renamed as Multi- sectoral Nutrition and Population Centre. The source further revealed.
He said that Punjab fares better compared to national statistics i.e. 31.5 percent of the children under-5 remain stunted, 7.5 percent remain wasted and 21.2 percent remain underweight (MICS 2018).
Regardless, the burden of malnutrition remains distressing, with more than one-thirds of the present generation being compromised, in terms of physical and cognitive growth. The implications of such high rates of malnutrition are multi-fold and long lasting, including higher dropout rates in schools, lower productivity and lower future earnings. Cognizant of these realities, the GoP is committed to deliver a comprehensive and thorough plan for the province.
The sources said that the Government of Punjab is completely committed to developing sustainable solutions and implementing meaningful reforms to achieve a healthy and nutritious province. Demographic trends play a crucial role in impacting nutrition and the large population in Punjab inherently translates into a greater challenge for the provincial government in providing adequate nutrition for every individual citizen.
Hence, collaborative efforts through a strengthened Multi-sectoral strategy and centre supported by an integrated approach will ensure that the crucial work done in the areas of nutrition and population can pay dividends for the province in the future, he added.