Speakers warn against food insecurity

Say 20 per cent of population faces food insecurity

ISLAMABAD:

Speakers have warned of the looming food insecurity with 20 per cent of the population, especially the most vulnerable group particularly women facing an adequate and diverse diet.

They were speaking at a seminar titled "Ramification of Food Insecurity in Pakistan" organised by Founder Group said.

They said that the looming food insecurity hovering in the region has posed an impending threat to all underdeveloped countries especially South Asia countries including Pakistan.

The event was held here under the aegis of the.

Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry former senior vice-president Meher Kashif Younis quoting the world food programme said recently Pakistan's double-digit food price inflation along with dwindling income has left more Pakistanis food insecure.

He said a sizeable number of Pakistanis were food insecure of which 18 per cent were confronting acute food insecurity. He said 20 per cent of the population in Pakistan was undernourished and 44 per cent of children under five years of age were stunted.

He said in recent years, Pakistan has produced more food than the population consumes and has been a major producer of wheat and rice. However, the poor segment of the society and most vulnerable people in the country could not afford a sufficient and nutritious diet despite the overall growth in food production.

Meher Kashif said primarily this was due to limited economic access of the poorest segment of the society especially women who lack an adequate and diverse diet. He said all complementary feeding indicators were far below the acceptable level and only one in seven children aged 6-23 months hardly gets a meal with dietary diversity. He said that a major chunk of children was deprived of the minimum number of meals a day.

He said that food insecurity has two dimensions availability and affordability.

He said abject poverty, food insecurity, malnutrition, frequent infections, poor health condition, and hidden hunger are also closely associated with each other while the number of hungry people was rising every year.

He further said the main threats to food security are, population explosion increases food demand, higher food prices, absence of a variety of agricultural plant species, increase in the area of scarcity water, limitation of the availability of land and finally food losses and food waste.

He said in prevailing circumstances, “we must take immediate corrective measures to avert severe food insecurity grappling the region including Pakistan. He suggested that all stakeholders at the helm of affairs must be taken on board for formulating prudent national policy to address this core issue with the active participation of public and private sectors to achieve the desired results.

The other speakers said that the government must ensure that people have access to healthy and safe meals if universal food security and the pervasive concern of stunting and wasting among children were to be dealt with.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11^th, 2022.