Act for Nutrition conference: Govt official says nutrition needs to be reclassified as a capital expenditure

Act for Nutrition conference: Govt adviser notes nutrition needs to be reclassified as a capital expenditure.

Key points

• News Desk Published September 3, 2026 Updated September 3, 2026 10: 30am.
• The second day of a two-day international conference, 'Act For Nutrition: The Emergency We Can No Longer Ignore', is being held at Islamabad's Serena Hotel.
• Dr Saima Hamid, the programme and research lead at the Population Council, remarked that Pakistan's population expansion rate is at 2.55pc.
• 10: 17am – Govt adviser notes lack of investment in nutrition hurts Pakistan's GDP.
• 10: 08am – World Bank official notes nutrition is viewed through 'a human capital lens'.

Adnan Pasha Siddiqui, the adviser to the minister of finance, notes lack of investment in nutrition hurts Pakistan's GDP.

Notably, the second day of a two-day international conference, 'Act For Nutrition: The Emergency We Can No Longer Ignore', is being held at Islamabad's Serena Hotel. The conference intends to address Pakistan's persistent nutrition and stunting crisis.

On the first day, experts at the conference cautioned that more than four in 10 children under five were stunted and malnutrition was costing Pakistan close to $17 billion annually.

According to They additionally, malnutrition was produced by a combination of poor diets, inadequate healthcare, subdued water and sanitation services, poverty and other factors, making a multisectoral response essential.

Notably, the two-day conference is bringing together policymakers, international development leaders, health professionals and nutrition experts to confront the burgeoning crisis and build momentum for urgent, coordinated action. View the full agenda here.

Adnan Pasha Siddiqui, the adviser to the minister of finance, remarked that nutrition needed to be reclassified as a capital expenditure rather than as an expense.

"So this single accounting decision suppresses the investment narrative permanently. These are fundamentals flaws we need to correct, " he remarked.

Adnan Pasha Siddiqui, the adviser to the minister of finance, remarked that population and resources is a "collective failure of capital investment".

"We are reflecting everything nutrition-related as a health expenditure. Every rupee that is withheld from a pregnant women's diet is a deduction from the country's gross domestic product in the future, " he remarked. He remarked that in the country, nutrition was divided throughout a number of sectors.

According to Siddiqui, the annual loss from malnutrition was $17bn. He remarked that in South Asia, labour productivity was suppressed as of nutrition.

"And it is a structural liability to our sovereign credit profile, " he remarked.

Sara Shahzad, the senior health specialist from the World Bank, remarked that the group had 10-year country partnership framework with the administration of Pakistan focused on six priority areas, one of which was stunting reduction.

"So the way the World Bank looks at population stabilisation and nutrition, specifically the stunting agenda, is through a human capital lens, " she remarked.

Talking regarding stunting, she stated that 30-40pc of it occurred before a child was born.

"So, the first 1, 000 days are absolutely critical but also the adolescence period, " she remarked. 9: 58am – Expert highlights 'experimentation' in Pakistan's population planning.

Dr Ali Mir, the country director for the Population Council, remarked that there was always a tendency in Pakistan of "making the same mistakes again and again". Talking regarding Pakistan's previous population reforms, he highlighted wavering political commitment and policy inconsistency.

"We never explicitly had a population policy till 2002. It was always couched in development planning, " he remarked.

He remarked that due to this, Pakistan was constantly "experimenting". According to Dr Mir, now things were moving in the right direction, with the establishment of the Population Council. 9: 55am – Doctor notes nutrition is 'not an isolated event'.

Dr Saima Hamid, the programme and research lead at the Population Council, remarked that Pakistan's population expansion rate is at 2.55pc. According to She, in 28 years, the country's population would double, putting a enormous burden on resources.

"This clearly is a challenge of not just the quantity but additionally the quality of diet. We need to ensure that diverse nutrition reaches those most vulnerable, " she remarked.

According to She additionally, pakistan's domestic food security was on the decline, adding that "nutrition is not just an isolated event".

"One sector isn't really responsible. There is a clear intersection of nutrition, food security, health, purchasing power, " she remarked.

9: 52am – Session on population growth's impact on family well-being begins.

In practice, the session on population growth's impact on family well-being has now begun. 9: 50am – 2nd day of conference begins.

In practice, the second day of the conference begins with a short film titled Leaky Guts from the Aga Khan University. How to effectively address Pakistan's nutrition crisis. Policy gaps deter nutrition investment. Nutrition crisis stunts Pakistan's development dreams. Dawn NewsKit Publishing Platform.

In short, act for Nutrition conference: Govt official says nutrition needs to be reclassified is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.