Islamabad, – The World Health Organization (WHO) and Pakistan’s Benizair Income Support Programme (BISP) met yesterday to expand the partnership through which they provide each year life-saving treatment to 43,000 children under 2 years old affected by severe acute malnutrition with medical complications in 169 nutrition stabilization centres (NSCs) across the country.
The meeting included a visit to the stabilization centre located at the Federal Government Polyclinic, Islamabad, led by BISP’s Chairperson, Senator Rubina Khalid, and WHO Representative in Pakistan Dr Dapeng Luo.
“I am truly thankful to the World Health Organization for this valuable partnership. BISP is working across Pakistan, and with WHO’s support, we aim to reach even more vulnerable families. We want to strengthen and expand our efforts so that no mother or child is left behind. When we work together, success becomes possible. We will continue to hold more interactive meetings and awareness sessions to reach people through counselling and support. Stunting is not just about physical growth — it also affects a child’s mental development. That’s why we must act early and work together with dedication. Healthy mothers and children are the foundation of a strong and prosperous Pakistan. This is not just an option — it is our responsibility,” said BISP’s Chairperson, Senator Rubina Khalid.
Under the umbrella of the Benizair Nashonuma programme to combat stunting and malnutrition, WHO-supported centres funded by BISP have treated 46,000 children since 2022 and provided counselling to over 64,000 mothers and caregivers. In 2025, WHO will provide support to 199 centres – 169 of them funded by BISP – to treat close to 80,000 children under 5 per year, while providing counselling to 120,000 mothers and caregivers. During almost two decades, WHO has been supporting nutrition stabilization centres across Pakistan to save the lives of children that otherwise would have died.
The percentage of children cured in the stabilization centres amounts to over 98%, far exceeding the minimum international standards of 75%.
“A 98% cure rate is an excellent result and it reflects the good work, but even a single child lost to malnutrition is already one too many. These children are not just numbers; each of them has a story, and a family with dreams for their future. WHO remains fully committed to continuing and expand our collaboration with BISP and partners to reach every child and address new challenges such as climate change, which is exacerbating acute malnutrition in Pakistan. We are thankful and proud to partner with BISP to save the lives of the most vulnerable children,” said WHO Representative in Pakistan Dr Dapeng Luo.
WHO works in close collaboration with Pakistani national and provincial authorities, medical facilities, and other UN agencies like the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF, on the early detection of cases. Thus, WFP works in the prevention and detection of cases in the communities and refers them to WHO – if the case is severe – or to UNICEF, which supports the outpatient services. When required, UNICEF will refer the case to WHO. Besides this referral system, families also go directly to the emergency room or their closest nutrition stabilization center with their child already in bad condition.
WHO’s support includes, among others, technical guidance, human resources, operational assistance – comprising infrastructure and the provision of therapeutic supplies, the promotion of best practices, and evidence-based counselling.
Pakistan remains among the ten countries in the world with more than half of the under-5- year population suffering from either stunting or wasting, or both. The prevalence rate of stunting amongst children under five is 40 percent – totaling 10 million stunted children – and that of wasting is 17.7 percent, resulting in 5 million wasted children.
The cost of inaction would be far greater than the cost of action. In addition to the loss of lives, acute malnutrition – which in Pakistan is being exacerbated by climate change – is hampering the Sustainable Development of Pakistan, causing an annual economic loss of USD 17 billion –equivalent to 6.4% of the country’s Gross National Income (GNI).
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
