UN Seminar on Food Security & Nutrition ends in Lahore

Lahore : UN Seminar on Food Security & Nutrition was concluded, here today. Recommendations in this regard were finalized in the technical session. Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Punjab Shamail Ahmad Khawaja presided over the concluding session. The recommendations commensurate with common strategic and programmatic priorities of the UN Partner for Pakistan in the post-2017 scenario, including food security and nutrition.

While addressing the technical session, the ACS emphasized the need to provide clean drinking water and pure food to the people by the government at all levels and stressed upon promoting breastfeeding among the mothers and asked the people to adopt healthy lifestyle by changing their eating habits, preferring nutritious balanced food, avoid overeating and make washing of hands and oral hygiene as their habit if we want to safeguard our new generation from the stunting trend.

He also suggested to sensitize the youngsters about nutritional value of various edibles and proposed to established National Food Security Committee on the lines of National Security Committee in the Federal Government. Shamail Ahmad Khawaja informed the participants of the seminar about creation of Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Secretariat in Planning & Development Department and establishment of Punjab Agriculture, Food & Drug Authority (PAFDA) under which the most modern and state-of-the-art laboratories have been established to test the adulterated food stuff. This will help curb the adulteration-mafia in the province, ACS added.

The seminar also presented recommendations to avoid the use of fast food, fashion drugs and processed milk including dry milk available in canes and packets with the claim that these so-called fortified products contain excessive nutritional value. Contrary to this, a simple lifestyle and a habit of eating balanced diet preferably the boiled vegetables having natural vitamins and micro-nutrients must be promoted.

Convener UN SPA-6 Programme William Affif, Research Fellow Dr. Stephen Davies and Member Health P&D Punjab Dr. Shabana Haider also spoke in the technical session.