Food insecurity and malnutrition in Pakistan have continued to exacerbate in Pakistan as it has failed to address the problems of chronic poverty, income inequality, spiralling food inflation, widespread corruption, economic volatility and political instability. Recent events of natural disasters have added to the problem of acute hunger in Pakistan. Over 20 percent of people in Pakistan are undernourished.
In the Global Hunger Index (GHI), Pakistan was 102nd among 125 countries as the level of hunger in the country has reached a “serious” level. Pakistan is among the small group of countries including Chad, Afghanistan, Angola, and Congo, where child stunting is a serious problem. World Vision, a Canadian relief organisation, has listed Pakistan among the 10 most dangerous places to be a child.
Pakistan is suffering from the double whammy of being one of the poorest countries and the most populous ones. This has made the hunger problem complex and difficult to resolve. About 37 percent of the population is food insecure. Rural communities are the most affected said Irshad Khan Abbasi, Head of Innovation and Integration at Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF). “Factors such as poverty, limited market access, volatile food prices, and climate-related challenges contribute to this complex problem,” he said.
Currency devaluation has contributed to food inflation, which has been the fallout of constant economic and political instability in the country. The devaluation of the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) in recent years led to an increase in the cost of production for farmers. This translated into disruption of rural livelihoods and hurting food security in the country.
Even the middle-class population was affected as over 10 million people are suffering from food insecurity thanks to a sharp increase in the prices of basic food commodities. Waqas Chaudhry, a 20-year-old tech professional, said he was forced to stand in a queue to get a bag of free flour at a government distribution centre due to the food crisis and widespread hunger. “Everything has become so expensive. It has become incredibly difficult just to survive,” he said.
Many people in Pakistan are struggling to keep up with rising food prices said Uzair Younus, Director of the Atlantic Council’s Pakistan Initiative. “Over the last four years, blue-collar workers in Pakistan have lost around 30 percent of their purchasing power. These are lower-middle-class and lower-class citizens that basically earn USD 2 a day,” he said. Adults in Pakistan are giving up two meals a day, Younus said. “People cannot make ends meet. Life is unbearable,” he said.
The latest United Nations report titled ‘Hunger Hotspot: FAO-WFP has designated Pakistan as a ‘very high concern’ area in food insecurity. “Acute food insecurity in Pakistan remains of concern, due to economic downturn and subsequent high food prices limiting access to food. While subsidies on essential items were already reduced in 2022, authorities might introduce new austerity measures, which could further limit the purchasing power of vulnerable households,” reads the report.
The report warned of further deterioration if ongoing economic and political crises further worsen. Islamabad government’s bid to obtain financial aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led to a sharp increase in food inflation which only aggravated the hunger problem in Pakistan. The unprecedented floods of 2022 negatively impacted agricultural production in Pakistan, thus worsening the food crisis.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the country’s central bank, has acknowledged income inequality due to the limited economic access of the poorest and most vulnerable is among the primary reasons for the dismal state of food insecurity. “Pakistan is still struggling with issues such as under-nourishment, micronutrient deficiencies. Per capita consumption of food products that possess high-nutritional value like beef, chicken, fish, milk, vegetables and fruits is almost 6-10 times lower than that of developed countries,” reads its report.
Corruption is a major factor that has had a profound impact on food insecurity and hunger in Pakistan. Saira Habib and Hasnain Didar, scholars from Comsats University in Islamabad, carried out research that revealed that corruption have had a significant impact on food insecurity in Pakistan as it infiltrated the food supply chain, disrupted resource allocation and led to decreased agricultural productivity. Pakistan ranks 133rd among 180 countries in the Transparency International ranking.