Promoting healthy diet to combat malnutrition

PESHAWAR, Oct 13 (APP): With birds chirping in canopy trees signaling the dawn of a new morning at village Dheri Mian Ishaq on River Kabul, the sunrays cast warm glow on mud house of Azhar Khan, a determined fruit and vegetable seller.
Taking control of family business in 2020 in a difficult financial situation after tragic death of his father due to cardiac arrest, Azhar, 35 started selling organic products at Chamakan market in Peshawar.
He daily brings fruits and vegetables to this market from hometown in Nowshera district on rickshaw, toiling hard like many others to defeat poverty.
Braving all odds in his early days of business, Azhar was now all smiles after seeing people’s overwhelming response to organic fresh fruits and vegetables, useful in combating malnutrition especially in children and lactating mothers.
Khan sells a variety of organic fruits and vegetables including guava, grapes, apples, peaches, ladyfinger and ridged gourd to cater to rising consumers’ demand for quality nutritious food and balanced diet.
“As winter approaches, the demand for organic produce surges,” he said. “Sometimes I had to visit twice to Chamkani for more fresh fruits and vegetables.”
He is not alone in this business as thousands others cultivating fruits and vegetables play a key role in promoting organic food at a time when millions of Pakistani are prey to mal-nutrition, especially the kids and youngsters.
Thousands of the families in the province are now inclined to use pesticides and chemicals free organic food for better health.
“Balanced diet has critical role for better health,” remarked Dr. Riaz Khan, a child specialist at the Government Hospital Pabbi Nowshera. “Balanced diet helps in combating malnutrition, particularly among children, lactating mothers and elderly citizens.”
He said healthy dietary practices must start from infancy with breastfeeding infants and then in early childhood to raise a healthy generation.
Declaring malnutrition as silent killer, Dr Riaz said it poses a significant threat to children health and cognitive development besides affecting their physical growth.
“We rank second in the region with our 40% of children affected by this tendency due to socioeconomic imbalances, poverty and lack of excess to quality medical treatment,” he claimed.
Scores of children especially in less developed districts of Khyber Pakthunkhwa including merged tribal districts, Tank, Batagram, Kohistan and Chitral do not meet essential micronutrient needs due to high rate of poverty.
“Studies indicated that majority of children face calcium, iron, zinc and vitamin A deficiency,” Dr Riaz stated also mentioning that about 50% children suffering from vitamin C and iron deficiency.
“Iron deficiency affects nearly half of children under five and leads to developmental delays and increased chances of pneumonia and other fatal ailment due to weaker immunity,” he informed.
As per National Health Survey of Pakistan report, one in three children are malnourished, with nearly 40 percent facing stunting and low weight at birth and five years of age. The root causes of malnutrition are stated to be repeated use of unbalanced diets, vivacious poverty and limited access to healthcare and food insecurity.
Darya Khan, Provincial Coordinator at Nutrition International, Peshawar said the Government was encouraging organic farming to address challenge of malnutrition especially in children and pregnant mothers.
He noted that people who consume inorganic foods regularly are more susceptible to various health issues. “Promoting home-based agriculture can significantly improve nutrition level of Pakistani populace.”
The longevity of life and health of communities in remote areas, such as Hunza and Swat, illustrated the benefits of organic and balanced diets.
The cultural shift toward organic food cultivation is gaining traction in urban centers like Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi as organic farming has experienced an annual growth rate of 15% in Pakistan over the past decade.
The phenomenon of malnutrition also has its economic effects with Dr. Naeem Khattak, former Chairman of the Economics Department, Peshawar University reveals that Pakistan suffered approximately three billion dollar annual losses due to micronutrient deficiencies. “Stunting in children and pregnant mothers increased in KP due to increasing poverty rate after 2022 floods that affected agriculture and livestock immensely.”
He called for urgent intervention like promoting sustainable agricultural practices, enhancing women’s access to education and income, and strengthening healthcare systems besides financial support to poor families during pregnancies for better mother-child health.
Meanwhile, Dr Ihtesham Ali, advisor to Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Health, highlighted the government initiatives to promote balanced diet and combat malnutrition.
Under the Ehsas Nashonoma program, he said financial support is provided to poor families, with special focus on girls and lactating mothers. “Rs2500 per month for newborn girls and Rs2000 for newborn boy are provided to poor parents for two years and health record is maintained of beneficiaries to monitor growth and health of children under two years.”
The CM aide said promotion of healthy diets and sustainable agriculture farming practices was imperative to defeat stunting. “By prioritizing nutrition and investing in food, education and healthcare, we can achieve the common goal of healthy generation.”
Therefore, it is a shared responsibility of the whole nation to collectively fight out this menace affecting health of our younger generation and exerting extra burden on our kitty.
APP/fam/maz (APP Feature Service)