UNICEF gets $3.7m to combat malnutrition in Pakistan
23 June, 2012
ISLAMABAD: Up to 10 million children in Pakistan are suffering from malnutrition, half of whom suffer from acute malnutrition, weakening their immune system and often causing death. To combat the menace, UNICEF has received $3.7 million from the European Commission, especially for the women and children who have been affected by floods and conflict in Pakistan, says a press statement issued on Friday. The nutrition interventions, that are now guaranteed, will help reach more than half a million people, mostly children, it adds. The support comes at a critical time, as nutrition is a key concern in Pakistan, where nearly 3.5 million children are hit by acute malnutrition, and another 1.4 million by severe acute malnutrition. The UNICEF project will assist districts of Sindh province in the south that have been hard hit by the floods and are vulnerable to food insecurity. It will also help more than 58,000 families who have fled violence in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) since January. The ECHO contribution is part of a $24.8 million funding package announced late in April to assist people in Pakistan displaced by floods and insecurity. End.
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