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Thursday March 28, 2024

World Food Day – Eliminating hunger for a healthier Pakistan

By Sidra Khan
October 16, 2017

The 16th October is celebrated worldwide an ode to the inception of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN in 1945.

World Food Day is celebrated every year this day around the globe to tackle the problems associated with global hunger, food protection, malnutrition, infant mortality rate, women health, nutrition and more.

The theme of this year is “Change the future of migration, invest in food security and rural development”. The theme is an attempt to aware people about rural expansion and ensuring food protection and security for people worldwide.

Ever since World War II, the world is experiencing the largest human movements which have presented a complex problem of resource scarcity, unemployment, lack of food security, lack of access to social protection, environmental degradation and climate change.

Referring to Pakistan on World Food Day, it is important to highlight some hard-hitting facts including its 77th out of 109th rank on the Global Food Security Index where affordability of food among population stands at 44 percent, availability of food stands at 52 percent and quality and safety of food stands at 47 percent.

Every 6 in 10 Pakistanis is food insecure- that is they don’t have access to affordable, nutritious food in sufficient quantity.

A growing concern is that food production in Pakistan is enough to feed the whole population but food insecurity is a major concern with half of the women and children under the age of five are malnourished, giving rise to infant mortality rate and declining maternal healthcare.

World Food Programme, in partnership with Pakistan government has assisted over 3.6 million people which included acutely malnourished children, nursing and pregnant mothers, in the last few years.

This year it has launched programmes to prevent stunting and malnutrition in children under five years of age and pregnant and nursing mothers in Fata and Baluchistan.

Pakistan government in collaboration with other countries, over this cause, intends to end hunger, eliminate all forms of malnutrition, and build inclusive and sustainable food-division systems in the country.

Pakistan has been supporting the Sustainable Development Programme by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

In Pakistan, it’s not just the rural and impoverished areas that are affected by food insecurity but even the urban areas are facing with an intricate problem. The food prices constantly fluctuate affecting the purchase power of consumers greatly.

There is a dire need for urgent reforms to address the unequal distribution, not just, of food but also of health, education, water, and housing services.