Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the globe, has been ranked 99th out of 129 countries on the Global Hunger Index (GHI), which describes its hunger as “serious.”
The fourth edition of the report, which was compiled in collaboration by the German non-profit Welthungerhilfe and its Irish counterpart Concern Worldwide, was released on Tuesday in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.
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In highlighting a global food crisis, the report states that a “toxic cocktail of conflict, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic” has left millions at risk of food insecurity.
GHI projects that at least 46 nations, including Pakistan, will not attain “low hunger” by 2030, which is alarming.
Pakistan received a score of 26.1 on the 2022 report, which is lower than its score of 29.6 on the 2014 report.
Pakistan’s GHI score in the 2000 and 2007 reports was 32.1 and 36.8, respectively.
Outside of a closed store in Karachi, a man and a child consume food they pleaded for from a nearby food vendor.
According to the GHI report, South Asia has one of the highest rates of child malnutrition in the world [File: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters].
Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are the regions with the “highest hunger levels” and remain the most vulnerable to future disruptions and crises, according to a report published in October of last year.
“South Asia, the region with the world’s highest hunger level, has the highest child stunting rate and by far the highest child wasting rate of any world region,” the report added.
Pakistan was singled out alongside five other nations with rising child stunting rates.
“Central Chad, central Pakistan, central Afghanistan, and northeastern Angola, as well as the rest of the world, exhibited the least improvement over time, with stunting rates either increasing or remaining stable.” The introduction of the GHI report follows a United Nations report issued in May, which designated Pakistan as an area of “very high concern” with respect to food insecurity.
More than eight million people are anticipated to experience “high levels of acute food insecurity” in Pakistan, according to a report compiled by the World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization for the United Nations.
Political unrest
Pakistan has endured a turbulent 18 months, during which a continuous political crisis has compounded the country’s worst financial crisis ever.
Last year’s devastating flooding caused lingering damage to the economy, which sustained total losses of more than $30 billion, with the agriculture sector alone suffering losses of more than $100 million.
According to the International Monetary Fund, a growing balance-of-payments crisis has depleted foreign reserves and the country owes its creditors more than $77 billion, payable over the next three years.
Inflation has reached a record high, reaching 38 percent earlier this year, while energy tariffs have also risen in response to IMF demands.
Pakistan, which relies significantly on imports to satisfy its domestic needs, has also seen the value of its currency decline by more than 50 percent relative to the US dollar over the past year.
Accessibility and affordability, according to Abedullah, an agriculture economist and director of research at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) in Islamabad, are two factors to consider.
“The primary issue we face in Pakistan is affordability. Despite the availability of sustenance, revenues have decreased. This has diminished purchasing power, which is now the greater concern, he told Al Jazeera.
Abedullah, who goes by one name, stated that the government must reduce inflation and stop the Pakistani rupee’s devaluation.
People simply cannot afford goods any longer. “The government must work to increase both productivity and affordability,” he added.
“Absolutely no skills”
Adil Mansoor, a food security researcher based in the southern city of Karachi, stated that Pakistan has been compelled to import at least 10 percent of its wheat for at least four years because domestic wheat production has not met required objectives.
“It is highly unlikely that we will become self-sufficient in wheat production for at least the next five years,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that while the quality of Pakistani wheat was not a problem, the production seedlings did not produce a higher yield.
“We have very few research facilities and abilities that could aid in the development of more productive crops. We are also exporting it, particularly to Afghanistan, because after the dollar was permitted to float on the market, our profit margin improved,” he added.The report mentions Democratic Republic of the Congo and Madagascar.