Global hunger crisis

Social and economic inequality around the world has intensified greatly over the past decade as the allocation of resources gets increasingly divided along socially constructed categories. The harsh reality of the modern world is that not all countries have equal access to common social goods. Instead the distribution of wealth and resources follows a strict hierarchical pattern where the ruling elite control and regulate the flow of resources, leading to extreme inequalities worldwide. This, along with the rise of the consumer system and the sudden increase in the effects of climate change, has catalysed the current hunger crisis.

The 2020 UN State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report indicates the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation as 130 million more people could face chronic hunger by year end. It’s because during a time of multiple crises, resources are hoarded up while economies become dormant. Current numbers are even more unsettling as 381 million people in Asia, 251 million in Africa and 48 million in Latin America remain undernourished while a staggering 3 billion people worldwide cannot afford a healthy diet. The solution, equality, is pretty obvious but it is important to understand that, “world problems are interconnected, and the solutions are intertwined”. So, global communities should focus on the means of achieving such a solution by thinking about agriculture, health, poverty and the environment all as an amalgamation of a singular problem. Only through a collective call can we pave the path towards ameliorating these crises.

In the midst of it all, Pakistan will be at the forefront as it is directly and adversely affected by all these problems, which have imposed harsh consequences on the livelihood of millions of vulnerable communities. Being an agrarian country, authorities should be scrambling to address the problem of food insecurity in the country. By developing a resilient system to tackle the crisis, Pakistan can internationally lead by example.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2020.

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