Sujawal:
Grabbing their hungry babies, a group of mothers mix a plate of semolina under the guidance of a teacher, an attempt to stop malnutrition that affects almost one in two children in southern Pakistan.
Although the province of Sindh is the home of the mega port city of Karachi, the country’s financial center that extends along the Coast of Arabia, children in rural areas a few hours face marked levels of waste and growth delay.
In the arid Aldea de Sujawal, lethargic children with prominent bones wither in the scorching heat while social workers educate mothers about nutrient -rich ingredients and dissipate myths around food.
“Before, we only gave our children Popes because they were always available at home,” said Shahnaz, 25, who has radically changed the diet of his six children, weak and often sick, after a year of classes.
Now, convinced that children should eat a varied diet, has introduced affordable ingredients such as lentils and semolina in their kitchen, raising their daughter of malnutrition.
In the impoverished Rural Province of Sindh, 48 percent of children under five suffer from malnutrition and 20 percent of their most severe form, wear, according to the latest national survey on the subject held in 2018.
In this class, Adem, a social worker shows mothers how to cook with the semolina, easily available in the market.
“The semolina is cheap: for 50 rupees it can last a week if you are feeding one or two tablespoons daily to a six -month -old boy,” he explained to the AFP.
In Sindh, a province of 55 million people where contraception remains taboo and large families are the standard, 3,500 mothers have benefited from cooking classes developed by UNICEF.
Like many mothers in the area, Kulsoom, 23 years old and pregnant with their sixth son, all born prematurely and low weight, once they only fed their children with fried flat bread.
“One of my children died, and my youngest son is extremely weak, so they advised me to take these classes,” said Kulsoom, who is only called a name, like most women in their district.
Without spices
Parents are recommended to feed the babies solid foods of approximately six months, but in the rural uninde area this often means adult leftovers, too spicy for young stomachs.
“The main problem is the lack of dietary diversity,” says Mazhar Iqbal, a UNICEF nutritionist.
In Pakistan, 38 percent of children eat only two or less of the eight categories of food recommended by UNICEF.
The meat is saved for special occasions, however, there are alternatives of economic proteins, such as chicken spoils, boiled bones, lentils and beans.
As for fruits and vegetables, they are usually fried, losing their nutrients.
Bakhtawar Kareem joined the program after his son died of anemia.
“I have no money. Sometimes we eat, sometimes we don’t do it,” he lamented, scanning the swollen belly of his one -year -old daughter, who only has scarce hair groups.
Like 72 percent of children in the village, their daughter has delay delay, well above the average rate in Pakistan of 42 percent, one of the highest in the world.
Growth delay is more closely associated with brain development and physical growth, and can have long -term physical and mental impacts.
Vulnerable to the lack of clean and sanitation water that contributes to malnutrition, children often also suffer from fever or malaria, vomiting, diarrhea or difficulty urinating, and have abnormally swollen bellies.
Women eat leftovers
But the vicious circle of malnutrition begins with mothers.
“With early marriages and repeated pregnancies, more than 45 percent of women in Sindh are anemic,” said the nutritionist.
“This increases the risk of having low -weight babies, which are more likely to suffer malnutrition.”
In Sujawal, where only a quarter of the population can read and write, myths about food also deprive women of vital nutrients.
Farrah Naz, head of the global alliance to improve nutrition in Pakistan, regularly has to repeat that dried eggs do not make women bleed more during their periods.
Cultural norms around women who serve meals first and eating leftovers, despite the physical work they do in fields, also contributes to poor health.
“And when the food is over, it is its rations that are cut first.”
