A recipe for success: Nourishing young minds and bodies

“We used to feed our children just bread and curry. We would break up the roti and put it into the spiced curry,” explains Seema, a mother of four. She says that she would often feed them the same foods she and her husband ate. “[But] sometimes they didn’t want to eat it, or they would have stomach issues and get sick.”

Seema and her 2-year-old son Ayan are at a UNICEF nutrition counselling session on complementary feeding in the densely populated locality of Lyari in Karachi, Pakistan. The sessions offer advice on different food groups and cooking methods to support healthy nutrition for children.  

“This is the third time I've been here,” says Seema. “They have taught me very good methods on how to feed my children. They told us that it's important to feed the younger children, who eat solid food, some vegetables, milk, eggs, etc. We didn’t know these things before.” 

In Pakistan, 38 per cent of children live in severe food poverty, meaning they are fed just two or fewer food groups out of the recommended eight – including breastmilk, grains, fruit and vegetables, eggs, meat or fish, and dairy – that are needed to survive, grow, develop, and learn. Children in severe food poverty are also at increased risk of malnutrition, including severe wasting, stunting, and micronutrient deficiencies.

Rising costs, poverty, climate related disasters, disease, food insecurity, and limited knowledge about nutrition mean that millions of families in Pakistan are struggling to provide their children with a diverse, nutritious and sustainable diet. 

Seema’s urban community in Karachi is one of many areas across the country where UNICEF and partners are delivering the sessions, as well as cooking demonstrations for groups of pregnant women and new mothers to improve age-appropriate complementary feeding for children aged 6 months to 2 years.

“The nutrition teams design the menu for the sessions based on food that is available and affordable where the women live,” says Sania, a Nutrition Coordinator overseeing the sessions in Lyari. “We make a few variations so if the children don’t like one, they have another choice.” 

At today’s session, there are four types of khichri – a healthy combination of soft lentils and rice – on the menu: plain, carrot, squash, and potato, as well as potato cutlets. As a result of the sessions, many in the community have made changes to their diets and cooking methods. 

“The food is less diluted and much thicker, with less spice,” says Sania. “They’ve also changed the quantities to three meals in a day and two snacks, such as half a banana. Meat and fish, chicken and beef – they are too expensive here. So we suggest alternatives, such as the liver of the chicken, bones boiled for soup, pulses for protein, and red and white beans.”

The sessions also help to educate women about the importance of hygiene, including washing hands before and after preparing food. They also cover the benefits of breastfeeding, dispelling breastfeeding myths such as the belief they have low milk supplies, as well as the importance of multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) for women and micronutrient powder sachets for children -- all as part of a full package of essential nutrition and dietary needs.

“Now we prepare separate meals for the children without chilli, and they eat eagerly,” says Seema. “There's been a difference in their speech, movement and playfulness. The babies have become active. The older children have significantly improved in their studies.”

“Whenever someone I know becomes pregnant or has a baby, I inform them myself about what we learnt here.”