Following the goal of Pakistan’s new government and World Health Organization (WHO) to provide better nutritional facilities to the women and newly born children, the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) is launching a food nutrition program to deal with the issue of stunted growth of children, stated Secretary BISP Omar Hamid Khan on Thursday. BISP, which is the largest social safety network of the country, is all set to launch several new initiatives to support the poverty stricken women of the country. In Pakistan, 44 percent of the total children face stunted growth and 9.6 million children experienced chronic nutrition deprivation in 2016. The new government had also taken notice of the urgency of matter and committed all available resources to reduce the rate of stunted growth in children. The secretary BISP, while on an official tour to the regional office Punjab, reviewed the operational matters of the organization and urged the officials to tackle the complaints in a better manner. He also met the Women Leaders of BISP’s Waseela-e-Taleem programme and assured them to resolve their issues. He also said that the BISP will soon launch a support fund for the disabled children and unmarried girls. During the tour, the secretary was informed that the set target for the enrolment of children under the Waseela-e-Taleem programme was achieved and 144,199 children have been enrolled from January to September 2018 in the Punjab region under the program. The Secretary appreciated the BISP team and hoped that the same performance will be continued in the future as well. Khan added that the BISP will also launch small loans and skill development initiatives for the economic empowerment of all the BISP beneficiaries. Published in Daily Times, September 14th 2018.