TOBA TEK SINGH: Malnutrition is inflicting loss of billions of rupees to the national economy through decreased productivity, higher healthcare costs and lost future earnings due to impaired physical development.
Education and awareness about nutrition at the grassroots level will help address the issue at the massive scale for a healthy and prosperous nation.
This was stated by Punjab Higher Education Commission Chairperson Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan while addressing a seminar on nutrition in a changing world: advancing science in food and nutrition organised by Pak Korea Nutrition Center (PKNC), Faculty of Food Nutrition and Home Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad.
He said that changing food habit and lifestyle were aggravating the situation. He said despite the growth in population of 35m in 1951 to 250m in 2025, per capita calories had increased, thanks to the agricultural advancement but the issue of malnutrition was taking a nasty turn due to poor eating habits and lack of awareness. He added that a vast numbers of the students were not taking the breakfast that was a matter of concern.
Dr Khan was of view that steps being taken on the part of Pak Korea Nutrition Centre would bring the tangible results.
UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Zulfiqar Ali said 40pc of the population was facing malnutrition in the country that had emerged as one of the largest crises in the country. He called for ensuing healthy lifestyle, nutrition diet and workout. He added PKNC had been working on strengthening the capacity of healthcare professionals, promoting community-based initiatives, and advocating for policy development that supported nutrition and health.
He said the UAF was pioneer to introduce the Human Nutrition and Dietetics programme and added that training being provided to schoolteachers, lady health workers and clinical dietitians.
Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Country Manager Je Ho Yeon said PKNC reflectd Pak Korea collaboration to work jointly on this sensitive issue. He said such partnership and knowledge exchange would bring about tangible results in terms of manpower, research work and other areas of mutual concerns.
Prof Dr Jaehan Kim, the project manager at PKNC from Korean Chungnum National University, said under the PKNC, they were working on nutritional education system to ensure the sustainable delivered of nutrition education to final beneficiaries by developing teaching material, creating online teaching materials for remote and digital learning, developing recipes using indigenous resources and policy recommendations. He said the project was meant for sustainable and self-reliant nutrition improvement for malnourished children and communities.
Dean Faculty of Food Nutrition and Home Sciences Dr Imran Pasha said PKNC was flagship collaboration between Pakistan and the Republic of Korea to advance research and innovation in nutrition and food science.
Through cutting-edge education at the UAF, we aimed at bridging the gap between research and practical in food science and nutrition.
PKNC Central Project Director Dr Atif Randhawa said under the project, they had developed awareness mobile apps, including survey app, food composition app, and diet planner. He said 35 master trainers were trained in South Korea whereas 9,717 frontline workers were trained in Pakistan, impacting 97,000 end beneficiaries whereas research & start-up grants awarded to national scholars.
Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2025.
