Islamabad : The World Health Organization, in partnership with the Benazir Income Support Programme, will now support a total of 169 centres and 700 staff across the country, covering more than 70,000 children annually and providing counselling to 120,000 mothers and caregivers.
15 January 2026, Islamabad, Pakistan – The World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with Pakistan’s Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), has supported the establishment of 40 new nutrition stabilization centres since November to provide life-saving treatment to children under five suffering from severe acute malnutrition with medical complications. With these new facilities, WHO will now support a total of 169 centres and 700 staff across the country, covering more than 70,000 children annually and providing counselling to 120,000 mothers and caregivers.
One of the new centres was inaugurated this week at Bacha Khan Medical Complex in Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, by Chairperson BISP Senator Rubina Khalid, WHO Representative in Pakistan, Dr Luo Dapeng, and KP Health Minister Khaleeq Ur Rehman.
“BISP’s Benazir Nashonuma Programme is an important and effective initiative for promoting the health and nutrition of mothers and children. These nutrition stabilization centres, established in partnership with WHO, provide life-saving treatment and will be expanded to more areas across Pakistan in phases, with the cooperation of provincial governments”, said Chairperson BISP Senator Rubina Khalid.
The 40 new centres will cover an estimated 15,000 children annually and have been supported by WHO teams through repairs and renovations, capacity building, human resource support, provision of supplies – including therapeutic food – and comprehensive technical assistance.
The cure rate for children treated in stabilization centres supported by WHO and BISP across the country stands at 97%.
“We are particularly thankful for and proud of this collaboration because we are saving thousands of lives, managing the most challenging cases of malnutrition with medical complications using a science-based approach. Without the treatment provided in the stabilization centres, these children would unfortunately die. Even a single child dying from malnutrition is already one too many,” said WHO Representative in Pakistan Dr Luo Dapeng.
“WHO stands with Pakistan to continue saving the lives of children and securing a healthier future for all without distinction, no matter their economic status, where they live, or who they are.”
Pakistan remains among the 10 countries in the world where more than half of the under-five population suffers from either stunting or wasting, or both. The prevalence rate of stunting among children under five is 40 percent – totaling 10 million stunted children – while wasting affects 17.7 percent, resulting in 5 million wasted children. Acute malnutrition is causing an annual economic loss of USD 17 billion.
Despite these challenges, evidence indicates that the interventions under BISP’s Nashonuma programme – in partnership with WHO and other UN agencies like WFP and UNICEF – are delivering some of the strongest results ever documented globally for a nutrition programme, with measurable impact on stunting reduction and child survival. These results include a 20% decline in stunting by six months of age and a 5.6 percentage-point reduction in low birth weight among beneficiaries.
WHO will continue to partner with Pakistan and its people in reinforcing this and other health programmes, striving to deliver health for all.