SAFANSI Guiding policy and investment in human nutrition in four provinces of Pakistan

Female and childhood malnutrition rates in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan are among the highest in the world. The effects of malnutrition are generally divided into stunting, which refers to height deficit by age, wasting, which refers to weight deficit by height, and underweight, which refers to weight deficit by age. Some 43.7 percent of children under five years of age in Pakistan exhibit the effects of stunting, and the country has the second highest rate of severely wasted children in the world.

The persistently high burden of malnutrition in Pakistan and generally low level of investment in interventions to address the issue were documented in a series of articles in the British medical journal
The Lancet following severe flooding in 2010 and 2011 that exposed the extent of the problem. The World Bank responded to the series by initiating dialogues with the Government of Pakistan and other partners concerning systematic surveys of nutrition outcomes.