Over a third of all children in Pakistan are chronically malnourished (stunted), while 30% of under children under the age of five are acutely malnourished. This situation contributes to high mortality and morbidity rates among children under the age of five. The Lancet published the latest series on Maternal and Child Undernutrition Progress, which reiterates that previously highlighted interventions continue to effectively reduce stunting. AKU faculty Professor Zulfiqar A. Bhutta and Dr Jai K. Das are senior and lead authors of two papers in the Lancet series. They noted that Pakistan, like many developing countries, faces the challenge of the triple burden of malnutrition where stunted growth and deficiencies of essential nutrients are prevalent, alongside a trend of rising overweight and obesity.

During a recent conference on Sustainable Rice Finance in Karachi, Adnan Pasha Siddiqui, Chief of staff of Habib Bank Limited (HBL) discussed economic and strategic benefits of successful global rice trade and the role Pakistan’s agriculture and finance sector could play. The bank official shared HBL's interest and plans for sustainable development finance in food crops, especially rice. The event aimed to promote involvement of the private sector finance to expand and grow rice agriculture and trade.