Pakistan deeper into hunger crisis, warns GHI

ISLAMABAD: Climate shocks, soaring food prices, and chronic underinvestment in nutrition and health have pushed Pakistan deeper into a hunger crisis, the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2025 warns, placing the country among those still facing “serious” levels of hunger despite more than two decades of national and global pledges to end malnutrition.

Ranked 106th out of 123 countries, Pakistan’s GHI score at 26.0, slightly worse than 25.4 in 2016, shows that the country has failed to make measurable progress in tackling hunger. Its score is higher than that of Bangladesh (19.2), Nepal (14.8), and Sri Lanka (11.2), all of which have achieved steady improvement through targeted nutrition policies, social protection programs, and resilience-building investments.

Only Afghanistan fares worse in the region, with a GHI score of 29.0, reflecting the combined impact of conflict, economic collapse, and aid suspension.

The report paints a distressing picture of Pakistan’s food and nutrition crisis. One in every three children under five is stunted due to chronic undernutrition, while child wasting, a measure of acute malnutrition, has again reached alarming levels. Child mortality, though improved from earlier decades, remains high compared to regional averages. Experts say these indicators reveal not only the enduring impact of poverty but also the collapse of sustained nutrition governance and the absence of effective safety nets.

Floods, droughts, and erratic weather have battered Pakistan’s food systems over the past few years, wiping out crops, livestock, and livelihoods. The devastating 2022 and 2023 monsoon floods left millions homeless and destroyed farmland across Sindh, Balochistan, and southern Punjab.

Around 11 million people in the flood-affected districts were projected to face crisis-level food insecurity between late 2024 and early 2025.

As climate change accelerates, rising temperatures and erratic rainfall are expected to further threaten wheat, rice, and vegetable production, Pakistan’s dietary staples. The burden of hunger falls disproportionately on women and children, the report points out as malnutrition is linked to nearly half of all under-five deaths in the country.

Many pregnant and breastfeeding women lack access to nutritious food and healthcare, while a high prevalence of low-birth-weight infants perpetuates the cycle of poverty and poor health.

In rural communities, mothers often skip meals to feed their children, and the rising prices of flour, pulses, milk, and cooking oil have made even basic meals unaffordable for millions of families.

The report warns that Pakistan’s response remains weak and fragmented. Fiscal constraints have led to deep cuts in nutrition and social welfare programs. Coverage of severe acute malnutrition treatment is alarmingly low, and in many districts, therapeutic food supplies are either unavailable or dependent on short-term donor support. Public spending on nutrition remains far below global standards, with most programs limited to pilot projects or emergency relief interventions rather than sustainable, nationwide initiatives.