New recipes help fight child malnutrition in Pakistan

Mums in rural areas benefit from cooking classes and are changing diet of their kids

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SUJAWAL, Pakistan - Clutching their hungry babies, a group of mothers mix a semolina dish under the guidance of a teacher, in an attempt to curb malnutrition, which affects nearly one in two children in Pakistan's south.

Despite Sindh province being home to the mega port city of Karachi, the financial centre of the country that sprawls along the Arabian coastline, children in rural areas just a few hours away face stark levels of wasting and stunting.

In the arid village of Sujawal, lethargic children with prominent bones wilt in the searing heat as social workers educate mothers on nutrient-rich ingredients and dispel myths around food.

"Before, we gave our children only potatoes because they were always available at home," said Ms Shahnaz, 25, who has radically changed the diet of her six children, weak and frequently sick, after a year of classes.

Now, convinced that children should eat a varied diet, she has introduced affordable ingredients such as lentils and semolina into her cooking, lifting her daughter out of malnutrition.

In impoverished rural Sindh province, 48 per cent of children under five suffer from malnutrition and 20 per cent from its most severe form, wasting, according to the latest national survey on the issue conducted in 2018.