Pakistan extends Benazir Nashonuma nutrition programme to reach 8 million mothers and children

What is the background?

Malnutrition remains one of Pakistan’s most persistent health challenges. Roughly four in ten children under five are stunted from chronic malnutrition, equivalent to about 10 million children, and 17.7 percent are affected by wasting. The World Food Programme estimates malnutrition costs Pakistan’s economy close to USD 17 billion a year in lost productivity and healthcare spending.

The Benazir Nashonuma Programme was launched in 2020 as part of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), Pakistan’s main federal social safety net. It links conditional cash transfers to nutrition and health services for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and children under two.

What happened?

On 9 July 2026, BISP announced a three-year extension of the Benazir Nashonuma Programme in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, and the World Health Organization (WHO). The extension aims to protect an additional 3.3 million pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and children under two from malnutrition.

Since its 2020 launch, the programme has reached 4.7 million people. With the new three-year phase, total reach is expected to grow to 8 million.

How did it happen?

The programme operates through a nationwide network of 578 facilitation centres and 224 nutrition stabilization centres, where mothers and young children receive specialized nutritious food, antenatal and postnatal check-ups, immunization, and monitoring of pregnancy weight gain and child growth. Cash transfers are tied to attendance at these health visits, giving families a direct incentive to keep appointments.

Each partner covers a distinct part of the response: WFP supplies nutritious food and manages logistics, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition-responsive social protection, and WHO provides technical guidance across health systems, nutrition, water and sanitation, food systems, and education. BISP Chairperson Senator Rubina Khalid said integrating social protection with nutrition, healthcare and development partnerships can significantly improve the lives of mothers and children.

WFP Representative and Country Director in Pakistan Anita Hirsch said the programme’s results are “extremely promising for the prevention of child malnutrition,” adding that the extension will let WFP keep “reaching more mothers and children with the nutrition services they need.”

Why does it matter?

Independent evaluation found children enrolled in the programme were 22 percent less likely to be stunted at six months of age, and 18 percent less likely at one year, compared with children outside it. Those gains matter because stunting in early childhood is linked to lasting effects on cognitive development, school performance, and lifetime earnings.

UNICEF Representative in Pakistan Pernille Ironside said the extension reflects the government’s “continued commitment to advancing nutrition-responsive social protection,” calling the partnership a way to reach “the most vulnerable mothers, adolescent girls and children.” WHO Representative in Pakistan Dr Luo Dapeng said the programme’s results “prove the power of integrated whole-of-government and science-based approaches” across health, nutrition, and food systems.

What were the key results?

• Three-year extension announced 9 July 2026, targeting 3.3 million additional pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and children under two
• 4.7 million people already reached since the programme’s 2020 launch
• Total reach expected to grow to 8 million people as the extension proceeds
• Programme delivered through 578 facilitation centres and 224 nutrition stabilization centres nationwide
• Enrolled children found 22 percent less likely to be stunted at six months of age, 18 percent less likely at one year
• Four government and UN partners involved: BISP, WFP, UNICEF and WHO

What happens next?

Over the next three years, BISP and its UN partners plan to enrol the additional 3.3 million beneficiaries through the existing network of facilitation and stabilization centres, with WFP continuing to supply nutritious food and UNICEF and WHO supporting health system delivery.

Programme partners will continue to track stunting and wasting rates against national benchmarks as enrolment scales toward 8 million people, using the same data that showed a 22 percent stunting reduction in the current cohort. Officials from BISP, WFP, UNICEF and WHO said they intend to keep the programme tied to Pakistan’s broader social protection system rather than running it as a standalone nutrition project.