A world of hunger

The list of facts showcasing just how brutal a year 2024 was for Pakistan keeps getting longer. According to an analysis by the NGO Save the Children, at least 1.4 million Pakistani children were born into hunger last year. This is the second-highest number of children born into hunger in any country in 2024. The analysis shows that climate and conflict crises combined to drive an estimated 800,000 additional children into hunger last year at a global level, with around 18.2 million children being born into hunger across the world. Predictably, most of these children are from countries in the Global South. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the number of children born into hunger rose by 5 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year and by 19 per cent compared to 2019. Within this time frame, Pakistan has seen the disastrous 2022 floods which inundated around a third of the country and the resurgence of terror after the US departure from Afghanistan in late 2021. Meanwhile, looking at the world as a whole, the Middle East conflict and the spike in commodity prices caused by the Russia-Ukraine war are also notable. Last year was also, according to most experts, the hottest year on record and climate catastrophes were evident across the globe, including Pakistan, which endured record-high temperatures during the summer. This lends weight to the explanation that conflict and climate change drive the rise in children’s hunger.

In the face of this crisis, the global head of hunger and nutrition at Save the Children has called for “immediate funding and safe access for humanitarian lifesaving services for children and families in desperate need of food, nutrition, healthcare, safe water, sa­­nitation and hygiene, social protection and livelihoods support”. However, past experience shows that those with the money to solve humanitarian problems like hunger, principally the rich Western countries, are often reluctant to part with their cash. This is despite the fact that phenomena like climate change and most of the recent major wars have largely been driven by the decisions these countries have made. COP29 was a case-in-point. This was an opportunity for the developed world to make amends by compensating the Global South for climate harms. It would have also addressed one of the leading causes of childhood hunger. Instead, a mere $300 billion in climate finance was promised when the climate needs of developing countries ran into the trillions.

If we look at war, the other main driver of child hunger, we see the West actively arming, financing and generally facilitating wars, one of which has meant hunger for two million people. None of this has or likely will stop the West from staying on its current course. For countries like Pakistan, this means coming up with local solutions to protect children and other vulnerable communities as best we can with the resources that we have available. We are our only saviours.