Most Pakistani children living unhealthily: Report

Islamabad: More than half the children under the age of five in Pakistan are living an unhealthy life, the Global Nutrition Report 2015 says.

The report has come at a time when the UN member states plan to adopt the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) later this month.

Only Kenya is on course for all five World Health Assembly targets on nutrition while Colombia, Ghana, Vanuatu and Vietnam - are on course for four targets. Pakistan is among 20 countries that have met only one target, reported Dawn online citing the nutrition report.

The report claimed that many countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Nigeria, had only a minority of children who were growing healthily.

It also presented a dismal picture of the global nutrition status saying no country was on track to achieve the global nutrition targets set by the World Health Assembly.

A third of the global population is malnourished and the problem exists in every country, the report said.

The report highlighted the critical link between climate change and malnutrition and suggested that changing weather conditions were complicating global efforts to end malnutrition.