13/08/2026
On 11 August 2026, the Planning Commission, in collaboration with UNICEF, organized a Policy Dialogue on Maternal Mental Health (Psychosocial Support) linking with Maternal Nutrition (One Approach) for Child Development at the P Block Pak Secretariat, Islamabad. The programme focused on the interconnections between maternal wellbeing, mental health, nutrition and early childhood development (ECD). Key themes included maternal nutrition, maternal mental health, nurturing care, integrated service delivery, and governance and financing. It featured expert presentations on mental health services and maternal determinants of ECD, followed by two panel discussions on Maternal Wellbeing and its Impact on Child Development, and Children’s Mental Health in the Digital Environment.
Ms. Khadija, CEO of PAFEC, participated as a panelist in Panel Discussion I: Maternal Wellbeing (Health, Nutrition, Psychological Aspects) & Its Impact on Child Development. She emphasized that promoting children’s neural development and ECD is a collective responsibility involving government, organizations, communities, and families. She highlighted the importance of equipping families with both accurate knowledge and the necessary resources, while engaging the entire family ecosystem rather than focusing interventions solely on some members of the family. She also stressed the need to integrate mental health, nutrition, and ECD and shift the focus from developing more policies and frameworks, as Pakistan already has a substantial number of them, towards effective action and implementation. Key priorities included collaboration, workforce development, strengthening frontline workers, and expanding non-specialist interventions to achieve meaningful outcomes for children and families.
