ISLAMABAD: Prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday took serious note of malnutrition and stunted growth in children.

He was chairing the 43rd meeting of Council of Common Interests (CCI).

The meeting was attended by Chief Ministers of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

The CCI unanimously agreed upon launching of a development project “Tackling Malnutrition Induced Stunting in Pakistan” with a total cost of approximately Rs. 350 billion and duration of 5 years (FY 2020-25). It was agreed that 50 % cost i.e. Approx. Rs. 175 billion will be provided by Federal Government and equal distribution to be made by Provincial Governments for 5 years.

This project will target 30% of the total population of country with 15 million women of reproductive age group and 3.9 million children under the age of 2 years through nutrition interventions.

It was agreed that the Federal Government will provide for nutrition supplementary commodities, capacity building of new & existing healthcare workers, research & monitoring while as provinces will contribute towards implementation through involvement of existing LHWs, Community Health Workers, target population identification, program management, institutional arrangement, evaluation and data sharing.

The CCI considered request of Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for one-time permission to swap / substitute arrangement of one exploration block with another prospective block within the province.

The CCI accorded one-time approval for the swap with the condition that commitments accruing out of previous award of block should be completed and Petroleum Division should incorporate a time limit for such swap so that future requests are catered for.

The CCI also reviewed implementation status of previous decisions.

Keeping in view the importance of developing a consensus on energy issues of the country, it was decided that next meeting of the CCI be called in first month of next year to finalize issues related to costs of electricity, gas & fuel; and to resolve water related issues.

Prime Minister emphasized that energy issues carry a national impact and it is necessary that a consensus is developed among the provinces where a win-win result is achieved for the benefit of the people of Pakistan. NNI