Prevalent food insecurity

As it is with education, Pakistan is in a state of emergency with respect to nutrition. On most nutrition indicators, the country ranks worse than parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, there is negligible understanding, consciousness or empathy among the educated elite of the gravest of problems that faces millions of people in this country. According to the World Food Programme’s country director, Pakistan produces enough food for its entire population and has the largest irrigation system. At the same time, at least 43% of the population is food insecure with 18% facing a severe food shortage that most affects women and children. Around 15% of children in this country face acute malnourishment, while 43% children face stunted growth, with the highest numbers in Tharparkar district of Sindh, Balochistan and Fata. As things stand, Pakistan will have a generation of stunted children in the next 15 years, only adding to the cycle of poverty.

This country consistently fails on these basic indicators, which are never a priority for any leadership. In a report released last week, Pakistan was ranked 149^th among 188 countries in the assessment of countries’ progress towards the UNs’ health-related Sustainable Development Goals. Meanwhile, if consumption patterns in elite neighbourhoods of urban cities are an indication, it seems as if the gap between the rich and the poor is widely growing. The number of eateries keeps increasing, their prices inflating as do the number of beggars on the streets. There is excessive consumption on the one end and food wastage and extreme poverty on the other. Around 40% of food produced is wasted everyday with most food wastage at weddings and buffets. Thousands can be gathered in this country for political sloganeering but never to protest for better healthcare, education or against class inequality. Most of this country’s problems are blamed on other states, but surely, there are certain things that are within our control too. It is time that the entire leadership and the media gave priority to these haunting problems.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 28^th, 2016.

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