Stunting and Child Growth Faltering in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Public Health Intervention
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69565/mls.v4i1.454Keywords:
Stunting, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, Child nutrition, Food insecurity, WASH, Public health interventionsAbstract
There are growing concerns regarding childhood undernutrition and growth delays in Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), but regional evidence is still lacking. Most available studies are small, non-representative, and cross-sectional. Due to this, evidence on GB’s regional determinants including, but not limited to, isolation, maternal nutrition, WASH, health services, dietary risks, and climate-related vulnerabilities are scarce. Recent public health and nutrition programs have addressed the burden of childhood undernutrition through integrated means and context-specific frameworks. Stunting (height-for-age < -2 SD of WHO) is still the leading public health issue in GB, though it is not often acknowledged. A scoping review from 2010-2025 reported stunting prevalence as high as 46.6% in GB, which is higher than the national and regional estimates. Poor child feeding and maternal nutrition practices, food insecurity, poor WASH services, health and climate isolation, and poor health services are the major risks. The Central Asia Stunting Initiative (CASI) addressed undernutrition by increasing the diversity of breastfeeding and other feeding practices, with a moderate reduction in stunting. The still pertinent issues of food insecurity and unequal access to essential, basic services continue to worsen the child stunting problem. There are persisting gaps in research including underdeveloped and climate-related nutritional studies at the district-level and a lack of longitudinal and intervention studies. These findings highlight the need for the implementation of context-specific integrated multi-sector strategies for the first 1,000 days of life, along with food security, maternal and child nutrition, WASH and women’s empowerment, and the reduction of stunting and improvement of child growth in Gilgit-Baltistan.
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