Food insecurity touches 24.35pc of households: PDP

Nearly one in four households in Pakistan struggles to provide adequate food, according to PDP chairman Altaf Shakoor. Poverty and inflation are exacerbating the issue, with the latest Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES 2024-25) showing moderate-to-severe food insecurity affecting 24.35 percent of households, a 53 percent increase over the previous survey period.

Severe food insecurity, characterized by skipping meals, has more than doubled to 5.04 percent of households. The crisis stems from an affordability shock, with families dedicating 36.72 percent of their budgets to food while consuming less. The poorest households face the highest rates, with 45.9 percent in the lowest income quintile.

Balochistan and Sindh have the highest rates, though every province has at least one in five households experiencing moderate-to-severe food insecurity. Pakistan is home to nearly 48 percent of the extremely poor in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAAP) region, with 49.9 percent living below the USD4.20 lower-middle-income threshold.

Inflation is at 10.3 percent year-on-year, with transport costs up 27.43 percent and wholesale inflation at 13.33 percent. The unemployment rate is 7.1 percent, with 5.9 million people unemployed and youth unemployment at 12.8 percent. The consequences are severe, with over 40 percent of children under five stunted, 26 million children out of school, and 70 million lacking access to basic sanitation.

Shakoor advocates for an inflation-indexed social protection program, proposing to increase Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) payments to Rs18,000 from Rs14,500, with transfer values indexed to food inflation. He calls for market regulation, supply-side intervention, and reduced energy tariffs to stimulate manufacturing and job creation.