Daily Times

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday directed his Special Assistants on Health and Social Protection to jointly formulate a comprehensive roadmap on prevention of stunted growth among children in consultation with provinces.

Chairing the first high-level meeting of Pakistan National Nutrition Coordination Council, the prime minister said the roadmap would be presented to the Council of Common Interests.

The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers Shafqat Mahmood, Dr. Fehmida Mirza, Syed Fakhr Imam, Asad Umar, Commerce Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood, Special Assistants Dr. Sania Nishtar, Malik Amin Aslam, Dr. Faisal Mirza, secretaries of relevant ministries and senior officials. The provincial chief secretaries attended the meeting through video link.

The prime minister in his maiden address to the nation after assuming his office had highlighted his government’s priority to address the issue of stunting in view of its impact on the mental and physical development of children due to malnutrition and substandard food.

Imran Khan said stunting not only affected children’s mental and physical abilities, but also deprived the society of benefiting from their constructive abilities. He said overcoming stunting was the top priority of the government and the Federation would play its full role in this regard. ÿ Comprising eight federal ministers, the National Nutrition Coordination, set up at national level, aims at improving and streamlining coordination at federal and provincial levels to implement the prime minister’s vision and government priorities to prevent stunting.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday held a meeting with his newly appointed Special Assistant on Power Tabish Gohar and discussed the ways for improvement in energy sector. They discussed the need for effective implementation of reforms in energy sector. Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Petroleum Nadeem Babar was also present on the occasion. Separately, Adviser on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan called on the prime minister and discussed the matters of importance.