Pakistan’s Health Minister Mustafa Kamal emphasizes urgent need for a coordinated national approach to combat malnutrition, linking it to broader health goals and governance reforms amid growing concern over child stunting and maternal health.
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has urged Pakistan to adopt a coordinated national response to malnutrition, arguing that progress on broader health goals will remain out of reach unless stunting and poor maternal nutrition are addressed first. Speaking during a meeting with Finance Minister’s Adviser Adnan Pasha, Kamal said the health of mothers and children is tightly linked to diet and that nutrition must be treated as a priority rather than a side issue.
Kamal said about 11,000 women die each year in Pakistan during childbirth and that 43 per cent of children are stunted because of malnutrition. He described proper nutrition as the basis of a child’s healthy development, reflecting a message he has repeated in recent weeks as he presses for wider reform in the health system. In earlier remarks, he also said Pakistan’s public health problems cannot be solved without stronger primary care and more effective local government.
His comments come as concern grows over the scale of child stunting in the country. The World Bank and Sindh government recently agreed a joint approach to tackle the problem through co-ordination across health, water and sanitation, social protection and agriculture, with the first phase due to begin in 10 districts. The plan also includes a shared governance and monitoring framework to bring budgets and performance targets into line across departments.
Kamal has separately argued for broader structural changes, including new administrative units and a rethink of how resources are distributed between provinces. He has said the current system is too rigid to deliver services efficiently, while also warning that weak governance at the grassroots level continues to undermine health delivery. Together, those positions suggest he sees malnutrition not just as a medical issue, but as part of a much wider policy failure that requires joint action across government.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
