First Lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday reaffirmed her strong support for efforts of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) towards achieving Zero Hunger in Pakistan and assured that she would lend her voice to advocacy and public-awareness initiatives supporting nutrition and food security nationwide.
A delegation of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), led by Ms. Anita Hirsch, Representative and Country Director, WFP Pakistan, called on her in Karachi. The meeting was also attended by Senator Sherry Rehman, Sindh Minister for Education Syed Sardar Ali Shah, Mayor Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab and Director General Foreign Affairs Irfan Soomro.
The first lady was briefed on the WFP's work in nutrition, food security, school meals and climate resilience, particularly its collaboration under the Benazir Nashonuma Programme (BNP). Since its inception, the BNP has reached over three million women and children nationwide, including more than 1.7 million beneficiaries across Sindh.
The delegation also highlighted the WFP's US$40 million School Meals Programme, targeting 100,000 children in 614 government schools in Malir and Keamari, as well as interventions addressing acute malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, WASH and climate resilience.
The first lady underscored the importance of the Benazir Nashonuma Programme and its complementarity with the mandates of UN agencies working in Pakistan, particularly towards achieving SDG 2: Zero Hunger. She stressed the need for an integrated approach to maternal and child health, breastfeeding, immunisation, nutrition, early childhood development and reduction in infant mortality and stunting.
Aseefa also expressed her continued support for the WFP's ShareTheMeal initiative, to which she has personally contributed, and stressed the importance of sustained cooperation between the government, the United Nations and development partners to ensure that Pakistan's most vulnerable women and children have access to adequate nutrition, healthcare and education.