Govt launches ‘Food System Dashboard’ for improved nutrition 

ISLAMABAD: The government has launched the ‘Pakistan Subnational Food Systems Dashboard’ to improve nutrition and address food security challenges.

The dashboard was launched in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) during a ceremony hosted by the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and Ministry of National Food Security & Research.

The Pakistan Subnational Food Systems Dashboard is built upon the global Food Systems Dashboard through collaborative efforts between GAIN, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Johns Hopkins University, and Columbia Climate School at Columbia University.

The event showcased the government’s high-level political ownership for strengthening Pakistan’s food systems transformation process.

The event was inaugurated by Federal Secretary, Ministry of National Food Security & Research Captain (Retd) Muhammad Mahmood. The Food Systems Secretariat at PARC will now house the Pakistan Subnational Food Systems Dashboard (PSFSD).

The federal secretary highlighted the importance of authentic data for the formulation of public policies and programmes.

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In his welcome speech, Chairman PARC Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali apprised the efforts of all stakeholders and development partners especially GAIN, FAO, and WFP for their contribution to developing this prototype Food System Dashboard.

Country Director GAIN Farrah Naz highlighted the importance of data and ensured support in future policy re­view and formulation.

The country leadership from FAO, WFP, and GAIN provided technical insights on Pakistan’s research gap and data collection challenges, and the opportunities ahead for transformative policymaking which enhances food security, builds climate resilience, and brings economic prosperity.

The Food Systems Dashboard holds the potential to track the progress and account­ability of action plans that support food sys­tems transformation, support policymakers in strengthening the country’s policy land­scape, and ultimately benefit people at risk of hunger, malnutrition, economic and climate shocks, and environ­mental degradation.