Pakistan, Aug. 30 -- Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal has ordered officials to prepare "actionable recommendations" on malnutrition after warning this week that Pakistan cannot meet its health targets while mothers and children remain undernourished. The directive, issued at a meeting with finance adviser Adnan Pasha, needs to become more than another file passed between ministries.

While Mr Kamal cited a 43 per cent stunting rate, UNICEF's latest update puts the number at four in every ten children under five, or roughly 10 million children. Its estimate of 17.7 per cent wasting means another five million face immediate danger. Malnutrition costs an estimated $17 billion a year, though no qualms about this price being first pa...