Lahore: A recent report has revealed that more than 41% of women in Pakistan suffer from anemia, with some 14.4% having low weight and 24% being overweight. The report, which was compiled by Nutrition International and prepared for the Cost of Inaction Tool, also highlighted the dire consequences of inadequate maternal nutrition.
It pointed out that for every 100,000 births, 186 women die due to poor maternal nutrition, while 2,000 women die annually from breast and ovarian cancers due to failure to follow recommended breastfeeding guidelines.
The report also highlighted that Pakistan reports around 1.4 million cases of low birth weight every year. In terms of anemia, Pakistan ranks 4th in South Asia and 35th globally out of 201 countries.
Nutrition International emphasized that Pakistan faces a loss of at least $17 billion annually due to nutritional deficiencies.
Additionally, the country faces 6.9 million cases of diarrhea, 19,000 cases of childhood obesity, and 30,525 child deaths annually from diarrhea and pneumonia, with 3,196 maternal deaths related to pregnancy.
