Islamabad [Pakistan], June 9 : Nearly one-third of children between 6-23 months of age in many areas of Pakistan are suffering from moderate acute malnutrition, while 14 per cent are affected by severe acute malnutrition, reported Business Recorder.
A rapid survey was carried out by French Embassy in flood-affected districts in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
As per Business Recorder, Chris Kaye, Country Director of United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said, "WFP is deeply concerned about the looming nutrition crisis in Pakistan. The increase in cases of severe acute malnutrition among women and children is particularly heartbreaking. WFP remains committed to addressing the situation with utmost urgency. The funding provided by the Government of France will help us reach some of the most vulnerable communities and provide them with life-saving assistance, for that we are extremely grateful."
Business Recorder is an English-language financial daily newspaper in Pakistan, founded in 1965.
The French government has donated EUR 3.5 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) in support of the ongoing flood response for Pakistani women and children suffering from life-threatening malnutrition.
According to a statement released jointly by the WFP and the French Embassy here, the financing will enable WFP to provide lifesaving assistance to thousands of children under the age of five, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and girls suffering from acute malnutrition in Sindh and Balochistan.
Despite the fact that Pakistan's enormous floods from the previous year had mostly subsided, the nation now faces a new lethal peril.
The latest in a line of essential donations totalling EUR 3.5 million, demonstrates the French government's dedication to working with others to eradicate malnutrition and aid Pakistan in its recovery from the recent floods.
Additionally, France earlier provided EUR 1 million in 2022 to the Integrated Nutrition-Safety Net Project for pregnant and nursing women in Sindh hit by floods and EUR 2 million to help WFP's flood relief efforts in 2017.
A lease of life will be given to hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis whose lives and livelihoods have been destroyed by last year's disastrous floods thanks to the total contribution of EUR 6.5 million, Business Recorder reported.
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