Another campaign done with the children of the SOS Village, in collaboration with the Governor Sindh, was the Power of Milk. FrieslandCampina Engro Pakistan Limited strongly believes in enriching the lives of the children of Pakistan and enabling bright futures for them by keeping them healthy. Therefore, the initiative “Power of Milk” was a culminated effort of the public and private sector to make headway against the stunting crisis faced by 45% children in Pakistan. Although Pakistan is the 4rd largest milk producing country, it still remains the second most malnourished country in Asia. It is ranked the lowest among 119 developing countries in the Global Hunger Index, which is shocking to say the least, as it lags behind India and even some states from Africa.

Being the world’s fifth most populous country, it is a well-known fact that Pakistan’s youth makes up 42% of its population, and children from lower socio economic sectors do not have access to the most basic nutrients that enable them to grow up healthy. These children don’t have the means to consume 2 glasses of safe milk every day, instead consuming open milk that is often contaminated. This leads to alarming cases of malnutrition and disease, and due to insufficient dairy intake, around 45% of Pakistani children are suffering from impaired or stunted growth. It is a sad fact that 90% of the market is current consuming loose milk, which is adulterated and unregulated, with no authorities putting it through food safety checks. It is also fact that this milk does not fulfill the requirements of a growing human body, and in fact, leads to long term diseases and stunted growth. It is thus a priority for FrieslandCampina Engro Pakistan Limited to ensure that the milk consumed by the people of Pakistan is safe and accessible, free from high alfatoxin levels that are significant in loose milk. The unawareness in Pakistani consumers has exposed them to major health issues, and this initiative brought us one step closer to spreading awareness of the issues connected with the consumption of unsafe milk. On World Milk Day, we conducted this event as part of a global initiative to create awareness about the importance of drinking bacteria free, chemical free, safe and healthy milk.

On the event itself, the Governor of Sindh Mr. Imran Ismail said “Every Pakistani child has a right to healthy nutrition, 45% of the children in Pakistan are facing stunted growth due to malnutrition. The Public and Private sector need to play their roles in countering this challenge. We appreciate FrieslandCampina Engro Pakistan Limited’s commitment to providing better nutrition to Pakistan. It shows their dedication towards creating a healthier and stronger nation. I am sure that the private and public sector stakeholders will continue to play their role in fighting the challenges of stunting and malnutrition. I urge the Sindh Food Authority to implement Minimum Pasteurization Law across Sindh just like it is done in Punjab. We as a nation need to ensure safe and healthy growth of our children. It is their right. Give the children of Pakistan the right of growth that they deserve! Once the children of our nation are strong, the future of our nation will be strong.”

Ms. Nageen Rizvi, Head of Corporate Communications & Sustainability said; “We remain committed to providing safe dairy products to the Pakistani consumers. It is imperative to build awareness about the multiple health issues that emerge from consuming the unreliable quality of loose-milk available in Pakistan. The low-consumption of safe and healthy milk among children has resulted in leaving half of Pakistani children malnourished and stunted their growth. Pakistan is losing a complete generation. This initiative is an effort to build awareness about the gravity of malnutrition and stunting crisis in Pakistan. We are one of the foremost dairy nutrition experts in Pakistan, and remain committed to providing safe and better nutrition to the nation. We have and we will continue to play our role in building our nation stronger.”

The Power of Milk initiative was the highlight of World Milk Day, putting us on the map for a global initiative that takes place annually. It was held at an Iftaar dinner, hosted by the Governor Sindh at the Governor House, Karachi, with the children of the SOS Village. FrieslandCampina Engro Pakistan (FCEP) made a generous donation of milk for the children of SOS Village, and were represented by Mohammad Usman Abid Director Human Resources and Ms. Nageen Rizvi Head of Corporate Communication and Sustainability along with other key representatives from the management.