450,000 Pakistani kids die of malnutrition annually

Islamabad, July 15 (IANS) Pakistani health experts have said an estimated 450,000 children die of malnutrition and other diseases every year in the country.

Speaking during a two-day workshop, conducted by Save the Children for journalists from Islamabad, Peshawar and Battagram, health experts held the Pakistan government accountable for lack of attention in this regard, Daily Times reported Saturday.

During all wars between Pakistan and India since 1947, the total number of killings has been less than 10,000 in Pakistan. Not noticing such huge number of children vanishing is very alarming, the report said.

The workshop's main objective was to raise awareness about the issue by highlighting importance of child and maternal health in the media. The experts said every child had equal rights and deserved an equal chance to survive.

It was unjustifiable that children still die of pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles and other conditions that the world had both the knowledge and resources to cure, the experts said.

Among the speakers was Luc Laviolette, a senior nutrition specialist at World Bank, who provided an overview of various forms of malnutrition and the state of child and maternal health in Pakistan.