By Hina Kiyani
ISLAMABAD: Center of governance and public accountability (CGPA) on Wednesday, stressed the need to break down the nexus that correlated among unhealthy food, NCDs and poverty for healthy life.
There is a strong correlation between unhealthy food, noncommunicable disease (NCDs), and poverty which is mediated through our systems of governance and public policies. Poverty leads to bad food choices, and unhealthy food via NCDs, increases healthcare costs, and makes people and their economies worse off thereby perpetuating poverty, it means that if we get our public policies and governance right, better health and socio-economic outcomes are possible. It is also possible that we change nothing, and keep ourselves trapped in a vicious circle of all-bad outcomes. This was concluded in a policy dialogue on “Unhealthy Food, NCDs, and Poverty Nexus” at the Beaconhouse National University (BNU), Lahore jointly organised by the Centre for CGPA, and the Beaconhouse University Lahore.
Various stakeholders such as Punjab Food Authority, Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority, Punjab Social Protection Authority, and Pakistan Nutrition and Dietetic Society (PNDS) participated in the event. Dr. Anjum Jalal, ex-Chief Executive Officer delivered the key note address.
According to the NCDs STEPS Survey 2014-2015, more than four out of ten adults (41.3%) were obese or overweight, while 37% had hypertension. The cardiovascular diseases stand among the top killers of Pakistanis with 29% contribution in the total NCDs related deaths in the country (WHO 2016).
According to the 10th edition of International Diabetes Federation (IDF) 2021 Diabetes Atlas, Pakistan has the 3rd highest burden of type 2 diabetes worldwide with more than 33 million cases with additional I0 million termed as pre diabetic. According to the recent figures, Pakistan has more than 36 million of diagnosed diabeteis while 11 million are pre-diabetic.
These unhealthy conditions of the Pakistani population are being manifested in causes of mostly premature deaths. It is estimated that around 6/10 deaths are contributed by NCDs (WHO, 2016), and 3/10 deaths are contributed by CVDs (WHO 2016).
Mr Muhammad Anwar, Executive Director, CGPA while welcoming the participants and panellists said that his organization is ready to help government agencies specially the food authorities and Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority in establishing surveillance mechanisms for control over industrially produced trans fatty acids which are the root cause of many NCDs.
Dr Jalal mentioned that the leading causes of deaths and disability are not wars, traffic accidents, or infections, but high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, and high cholesterol levels. “While these diseases are taking away 60% of precious lives, we can still prevent them with modifications in dietary practices, life styles, and choosing the standard medical treatments.” “Preventive cardiology is the answer to increasing burden of cardio-vascular and metabolic ailments in the country”, he added.
Mr Zubair Faisal Abbasi, advisor CGPA said that food governance is a newer area for Pakistan. New forms of institutional arrangements and coordination mechanisms are needed to improve governance of new foods such as packaged and ultra-processed foods. “Without improving governance, it not possible to discourage unhealthy foods such as iTFAs getting onto our tables and the sending us to hospitals”, he added. Ms Maheen Fatima, Director, Punjab Food Authority said that Punjab Food Authority is very active to protect the citizens’ right to safe food and good health. “We are not only designing and implementing policies, but also working on establishing better surveillance mechanisms to reduce iTFAs in food supply”. “Organizations such as CGPA and Nutrition International are playing an important role in raising awareness as well as conducting policy analysis, and capacity building of government institutions”, she added.
Prof. Dr Uzair Ahson, a renowned economist, while talking about the economics of disease burden stressed on the need of better public policies such as health financing, social protection, and taxation on unhealthy foods. “We are having double disease burden, and NCDs add such burdens which must be prevented otherwise they perpetuate poverty”, he added. He laid stress on human capital being lost due to rising NCDs in the country. Dr Ali Shahzad, Chief Executive Officer of the Punjab Social Protection Authority (PSPA) said that the first 1000 days of human life are very important, and human capital formation in later life is largely dependent on the nutritional and health status of child during that life-window. “We need to focus more on knowing how food, nutrition, and prevention of NCDs work together to fight poverty, and then develop and implement right kind of public policies”, he concluded.
Ms Hajra Saleem and Dr Afifa Tanveer, representing PNDS, said that the future of economic prosperity and healthy living is closely associated with nutritional status of individuals, communities, and countries. Therefore, governments must invest in nutritional interventions in their fight against poverty.
Dr Moeed Yusuf, VC, Beaconhouse National University, while concluding the dialogues said, “Academic institutions, food authorities, and civil society organizations must work together to fight against unhealthy food, rising burden of diseases, and help reduce poverty with better human development strategies”. “BNU is always ready to engage in policy dialogue and other modalities”, he added.
