Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the concerned authorities to make urgent coordinated efforts to ensure the supply of baby food to the flood-hit areas to avert malnutrition among the suffering children.
The premier, who chaired a virtual meeting on the flood situation in Pakistan on Tuesday during his US visit, ordered the cabinet members to reach out to the food manufacturers to provide the required supply of baby food.
He instructed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to also place an order for the baby food besides the one being arranged voluntarily to ensure that the children in the flood-hit areas are not malnourished.
The PM was briefed that the children, already facing malnutrition in the flood-hit areas, have now been deprived of even a one-time meal due to the devastating floods, creating an urgency for the baby food supply.
He asked cabinet members Ahsan Iqbal and Khawaja Saad Rafiq to talk to the food manufacturers and the provincial governments, including Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), to extend their assistance to help the federal government overcome the challenge.
PM Shehbaz also directed the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) to ensure complete the disbursement of the remaining Rs. 45 billion of cash relief assistance among the entitled families.
He also asked for the provision of tents for internally displaced families to provide them temporary shelter.
The meeting was briefed that the tents are being arranged and will be distributed with a 70/30 ratio to Sindh and Balochistan, respectively.
