Malnutrition Costs Pakistan $17 Billion a Year, Experts Warn

Islamabad (GNP): The first day of a two-day international conference titled “Act For Nutrition: The Emergency We Can No Longer Ignore” opened in Islamabad, bringing together policymakers, international development leaders, health professionals and nutrition experts to confront Pakistan’s persistent nutrition and stunting crisis.

Experts speaking on the opening day warned that more than four in ten children under the age of five in Pakistan are stunted, a figure that reflects the scale and urgency of the country’s malnutrition burden.

They further estimated that malnutrition is costing Pakistan close to $17 billion annually, a toll that speakers linked directly to the country’s long-term economic productivity and human capital development.

Speakers on the first day emphasized that malnutrition in Pakistan cannot be attributed to a single cause, pointing instead to a combination of poor diets, inadequate healthcare access, weak water and sanitation services, and widespread poverty as interconnected drivers of the crisis.

This framing set the tone for the conference’s broader argument that no single sector, whether health, water, sanitation or social protection, can resolve the issue in isolation.

Given this, experts stressed that a multisectoral response is essential, one that brings together health authorities, water and sanitation planners, social protection programs and policymakers under a coordinated strategy rather than fragmented, sector-specific interventions.

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This emphasis on coordination reflected growing recognition among the participating organizations that Pakistan’s stunting crisis has persisted despite years of individual sectoral efforts, making an integrated approach central to the discussions held on the first day.

The conference, held at Islamabad’s Serena Hotel, is designed to serve as more than a one-time gathering, with organizers positioning it as the starting point for sustained, coordinated action on nutrition throughout the year rather than a single event confined to its two-day agenda.

The second day of the conference is currently underway and remains ongoing at the time of reporting, with sessions continuing to examine the multisectoral dimensions of malnutrition, including the roles of water, sanitation, hygiene, population planning and social protection in shaping nutrition outcomes across the country.