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New Study launched on leveraging social protection system for stunting prevention

Dec 17, 2019, A new study in Pakistan has revealed a 15 percent reduction in stunting and 33 percent reduction in wasting in children at 24 months as a result of specialized nutritious foods (SNF), cash-based transfers, and social and behavioral change communication (SBCC). The joint study by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), the Aga Khan University, and the Integrated Reproductive Maternal Newborn, Child Health & Nutrition Program (IRMNCH&NP), focused on the impact of the in-kind provisions to prevent stunting among children aged between six and 23 months in Rahimyar Khan. In her remarks, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation stated, “Child stunting is a double-edged sword and remains a major barrier to the human capital development. It is linked to a number of factors including quality of water, sanitation and agricultural incontaminations etc. Within framework of Ehsaas, this new study will guide design and implementation of all nutrition specific policies and interventions on the basis of evidence.”