News Reporter
Islamabad: Islamabad : Women’s health and well-being have been placed at the heart of planning for social service plans by the current government, said Special Assistant to PM/Convener National Parliamentary Taskforce on SDGs Romina Khurshid Alam.
She was speaking at the technical session “Role of healthcare providers for improving maternal nutrition” organized by Nutrition International at the 12th Annual Public Health Conference, hosted by Health Services Academy. Addressing the event, Romina stated that, SDGs have been fully adopted by the government as their own development goals and nutrition is at the heart of all SDGs.
Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Shabina Raza, Country Director of Nutrition International stated that women’s nutritional needs, particularly during pregnancy are of utmost importance.
Evidence suggested that pregnant women who received nutrition advice from healthcare providers showed positive changes in their dietary behaviour to those who did not.
National Nutrition Survey 2018 shows that only 15 per cent of women receive nutrition counselling and only 7 per cent receive counselling on breastfeeding. She stressed the need to enhance the capacity and focus of HCPs on nutrition counselling.
Highlighting Nutrition International’s commitment to addressing maternal malnutrition in the country, Dr. Raza said, “this year marks Nutrition International’s 30 years of work to transform the lives of people – especially women, adolescent girls and children – by improving their nutritional status”.
