STUNTED! CHILDREN?

GLOBAL NUTRITION REPORT : There are 10.7 million stunted children in Pakistan and South Asia is home to 38.9 percent of the world's stunted children.

However, stunting has declined from 38.1 percent to 23.2 percent since 2000, the report produced by the Independent Expert Group, Stakeholders Group and the  Secretariat at Development Initiative says.

The report says Pakistan, India and Nigeria are house to 47.2 percent of all stunted children with 46.6 million stunted children in India and 13.9 million in Nigeria.

Most households in Pakistan cannot afford a nutritious diet which includes the recommended intake  for protein, fat, four minerals and nine vitamins.

The report analysis the budget spent on nutrition by 25 countries including Pakistan and has found an increase in spending on nutrition in all the countries surveyed the last two fiscal years.

The report found a lack of coherence across departments in Balochistan and proposes a new planning and budgeting process to improve the quality and effectiveness of nutrition relevant investments.

The report says there is a 19.2 percent prevalence of stunting in the urban areas and 28.8 percent in the rural areas.

Wasting still affects a greater proportion of rural children than urban, though the contrast is far less pronounced with 5.8 percent prevalence in urban areas and 6,4 percent in rural.

More boys are stunted and wasted than girls. About 25.6 percent of the boys are stunted and 22.6 percent of girls while on average, wasting is on average 6.8 percent among boys and 5.7 percent among girls.

The World Students Society thanks author Amin Ahmed.