Despite promising improvement, Pakistan has one of the highest rates of under-five mortality in
South Asia. Data from 1990 to 2010 show that in the 1990s, Pakistan, India, and Myanmar had
the same rate of under-five mortality; rates in Bangladesh and Nepal were higher. All of these
countries saw improvement in the following decade. By 2010, they had drastically lowered their
under-five mortality rates and are now on track to achieve their Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs).
In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province of Pakistan, under-nutrition remains a recognized
health problem and plays a substantial role in the region’s elevated maternal and child morbidity
and mortality rates. The devastating burden of under-nutrition has lifelong negative consequences,
including stunted growth and impaired cognitive development. These can permanently disable a
child’s potential to become a productive adult.