Key Details
- Start Date
- 2 September 2026
- Start Time
- 9:00 AM sharp
- Venue
- Serena Hotel – Sheesh Mahal Hall
- Venue Address
- Serena Hotel – Sheesh Mahal Hall. Islamabad
Dawn Media — ACT for Nutrition
Be Part of the Nutrition Conversation
The ACT for Nutrition Conference begins today, bringing leading experts from Pakistan and around the world together to examine malnutrition from every angle — and explore what it will take to tackle it effectively.
Day 1: Wednesday, 2 September 2026
Inaugural Session
Time: 9:15 AM – 10:25 AM
- Chief Guest Address: Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary, Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives
- Video Message: Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO
- Speaker: Pernille Ironside, UN Resident Coordinator Pakistan (a.i.)
- Speaker: Abigail Perry, Lead Nutrition Specialist, World Bank
- Closing Address: Wajiha Qamar, Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training
Session 2: Current Realities
Time: 10:50 AM – 12:40 pm
Session 2A — Global & Regional Realities
Time: 10:50 AM – 11:30 AM
- Video presentation: Dr. Giacomo Zanello, Co-chair, Independent Expert Group, Global Nutrition Report
- Speaker: Dr. Aminah Jahangir, Global Lead- Health & Nutrition, Aga Khan Foundation
- Speaker: Nora Hobbs, Asia Pacific Regional Nutrition Advisor, World Food Programme
- Online Speaker: Dr. Srikanth Eadara, Asia Regional Representative, Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement
Session 2B — South & South-East Asia’s Current Realities
Time: 11:35 AM – 12:40 PM
- Panel Moderator: Ifrah Maskan, Senior Analyst, Globesight
- Panelist: Dr. Irshad Danish, Co-Chair, Global Nutrition Report Stakeholder Group
- Panelist: Dr. Widayretna Buenastuti, Director & Senior Consultant, Inke Maris & Associates
- Panelist: Dr. Ravi Rannan-Eliya, Executive Director, Institute of Health Policy, Sri Lanka
- Panelist: Dr. Syed Abdul Hamid, Professor, Institute of Health Economics, University of Dhaka
Session 3: Integrating Nutrition into Social Protection Systems: Lessons, Partnerships and the Way Forward
Time: 12:45 PM – 1:45 PM
- Keynote Address: Senator Rubina Khalid, Chairperson, Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP)
- Panel: The Future of Social Protection in Pakistan
- Moderator: Dr. Irshad Danish, Team Lead, Policy Research Unit, Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP)
- Panelist: Dr. Asim Ijaz, Director General, Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP)
- Panelist: Thomas Conan, Deputy Country Director, World Food Programme Pakistan
- Panelist: Ellen Thom, Deputy Representative, World Health Organization (WHO) Pakistan
- Panelist: Dr. Fyezah Jehan, Chairperson, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University
- Panelist: Dr. Faiza Wahab, Food Security Advisor, Nutrition & Social Protection, GIZ Pakistan
Session 4: Investing in Nutrition
Time: 2:30 PM – 4:20 PM
- Video Presentation: Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)
4A- Building Human Capital and Driving Economic Growth
Time: 2:45 PM – 3:25PM
- Moderator & speaker: Dr. Ammar Malik, Senior Program Officer, Development Policy and Finance, Gates Foundation
- Panelist: Dr. Nazeer Ahmed, is chief of Nutrition, Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives
- Panelist: Dr. Shujaat Farooq, Dean of Research, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE)
- Panelist: Mansoor Ali Masood, Senior Project Officer, Asian Development Bank
4B- Mobilizing Private Capital & Partnerships
Time: 3:30 PM – 4:20 PM
- Moderator: Maheen Saleem Farooqi, Manager, Tabadlab
- Panelist: Attiyah Inaam Khan, Head of Corporate Communications & Sustainability, EBM (PVT)
- Panelist: Noor Aftab, Director Corporate Affairs Pakistan, Middle East, North and West Africa, Tetra Pak
- Panelist: Muhammad Sarfaraz, Executive Director Technical Operations, Innovita Nutrition
- Panelist: Hasan Khurrum Hanif, Partner Globesight and Agri Consultant
- Online Speaker: G.M. Reza Sumon, Project Manager, Workforce Nutrition, GAIN
Session 5: The First 1,000 Days: Why Women and Girls Matter for Nutrition
Time: 4:30 PM – 5:20 PM
- Moderator: Dr. Ayesha Babar Kawish, Public Health Educationalist & Consultant
- Panelist: Dr Hana Mahmood, Director, International Research Force
- Panelist: Dr. Rafat Jan, Associate Dean of the Global Outreach and Policy Unit, Aga Khan University
- Panelist: Dr. Nosheen Taqvi, CEO/ Founder, Nutradvice
- Panelist: Dr. Mumtaz Ali Khan, Chief, Centre for Disease Control (CDC)
- Panelist: Dr. Urooj Yasir Khan, Associate Gynaecologist, Capital Hospital
- Panelist: Nosheen Ashraf, Medical Officer, National Institute of Health
Featured Participants
Noor Aftab; Dr. Nazeer Ahmed; Nosheen Ashraf; Dr. Widayretna Buenastuti; Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhary; Thomas Conan; Dr. Irshad Danish; Dr. Srikanth Eadara; Dr. Shujaat Farooq; Maheen Saleem Farooqi; Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; Lawrence Haddad; Dr. Syed Abdul Hamid; Hasan Khurrum Hanif; Nora Hobbs; Dr. Asim Ijaz; Pernille Ironside; Dr. Aminah Jahangir; Dr. Rafat Jan; Dr. Fyezah Jehan; Dr. Ayesha Babar Kawish; Senator Rubina Khalid; Attiyah Inaam Khan; Dr. Mumtaz Ali Khan; Dr. Urooj Yasir Khan; Dr. Hana Mahmood; Dr. Ammar Malik; Ifrah Maskan; Mansoor Ali Masood; Abigail Perry; Wajiha Qamar; Dr. Ravi Rannan-Eliya; Muhammad Sarfaraz; G.M. Reza Sumon; Dr. Nosheen Taqvi; Ellen Thom; Dr. Faiza Wahab; Dr. Giacomo Zanello.
The Emergency We Can No Longer Ignore
Time: 9:00 AM sharp. 2 SEPTEMBER, 2026 At the Serena Hotel – Sheesh Mahal Hall. Islamabad
Partners
The publication displays sections for Principal Partners, Supporting Partners and Knowledge Partners. Clearly legible partner names and logos include EBM, Ministry of National Health Services Regulations & Coordination, Serena Hotels, Tetra Pak, Innovita, Globesight, GAIN, WaterAid, World Health Organization, World Food Programme and Acumen.
