AS we celebrate Nutrition Week, we are reminded of a truth that is too often overlooked: the first 8,000 days of life are a critical window during which the right nutrition can shape a person`s entire future.

And it all begins with the earliest phase: the first 1,000 days, from pregnancy to age two. This period presents a unique opportunity. Science tells us that the foundations of a child`s physical health, cognitive ability, and immune system are built during this time. If a pregnant woman is well-nourished, her baby is more likely to be born healthy. If an infant receives breastmilk and is later introduced to a diverse and nutritious diet, their brain development, learning ability, and long-term productivity dramatically improve.

But when nutrition is neglected during this window, the consequences can be lifelong. Children who are chronically malnourished or stunted (too short for their age) are more likely to face difficulties in school, earn less as adults, and remain trapped in cycles of poverty.

This is why it`s not enough to simply have food, it must be the right kind of food. Good nutrition depends on the quality of food we consume. While food security ensures availability of and access to enough food, nutrition determines the quality of that food and whether it contributes to physical and mental development. Nutritious food encompasses foods that are not only calorie-dense but also rich in essential micronutrients required for growth, development, and immune function.

Globally, food insecurity and child malnutrition rose for the sixth consecutive year according to the Global Report on Food Crises released this month. In Pakistan, malnutrition continues to affect millions of children.

Chronic malnutrition or stunting affects 40 per cent of children under five, while 28pc are underweight, and more than half suffer from anaemia or deficiencies in essential nutrients.

Pakistan`s nutrition crisis is further exacerbated by climate shocks and economic hardship. Recurring floods, droughts, and inflation continue to push vulnerable families into deeper food insecurity. In difficult times, nutrition is often compromised.

Mothers eat less so their children can have something on their plates. Fresh, nutritious foods are replaced with cheaper staples, and access to healthcare and essential supplements becomes limited. When families are forced to make impossible choices, nutrition quietly fades meals lose variety, children miss out on key nutrients, and the long-term effects begin to take root.

We know that ending the vicious cycle of malnutrition is possible, and it begins with the first 1,000 days. Supporting good nutri-tion during this window is the most costeffective way to prevent malnutrition and promote lifelong health. Every $1 invested can yield up to $16 in return (Global Nutrition Report 2017) through improved health, learning, and productivity.

Recognising the urgency of the issue, the government of Pakistan and WFP, along with Unicef and WHO, are partnering on an integrated evidence-based stunting prevention programme called the Benazir Nashonuma Programme. Since 2020, the Nashonuma programme has reached more than three million mothers and children with specialised nutritious food, cash transfers, and integrated health services across Pakistan. The programme is drawing interest from other countries as a model of multisectoral collaboration focused on the first 1,000 days.

Tackling the malnutrition crisis also requires a systems approach. The Global Report on Food Crises (GFRC) Nutrition Technical Working Group categorises contributing factors to malnutrition intothree key pathways: food, health, and care. That means improving dietary diversity, investing in clean water and sanitation, ensuring children are vaccinated and exclusively breastfed, and providing women with the care and information they need to support their own health and thatof their children.

Improving nutrition is a smart investment in the country`s future workforce and economic resilience. Pakistan has a stunting prevention programme that has proven it is working. But nutrition remains essential long after the first 1,000 days. The next 7,000 days, from age two to early adulthood, are where children grow, go to school, learn, and begin to contribute to society.

Without continued support through this phase, the gains made in early childhood can be lost.

This is where programmes like school meals play a vital role and ensure that children stay in school, learn better, and receive the daily nourishment they need to thrive turning early potential into lifelong productivity.

If we want to change the trajectory of our children`s futures, we must continue to put nutrition at the centre of sustainable development. • The wúter is Country Director and Representative, Wodd Food Programme.