ONE of the signature achievements of the modern era has been the near elimination of famines. In pre-modern times, the majority of humanity lived just above the hunger line, meaning more people experienced hunger on a daily basis than they do now. The vast increases in agricultural productivity were partially responsible for the improved situation since they made larger food surpluses available around the world. But in equal measure, the increasing capacity of the state to target vulnerable populations, and the growing embrace of a value system that made it the rulers’ core responsibility to ensure that they fed their poor populace, played a crucial role. The technology for increases in agricultural yields were coupled with massive amounts of money spent on food subsidies and public procurement programmes for food, as well as targeted feeding programmes in the decades following the Second World War and the rolling back of colonial empires.

Then in the early 1980s, it all began to come apart. Famine reared its ugly head in the Horn of Africa, sparking a massive reaction around the world as conscience-driven people mobilised to raise funds and arrange assistance. By the turn of the century, hunger levels around the world were increasing once again, even as the gains from globalisation lifted millions out of poverty. Today, in the opening decades of the 21st century, the clock is racing backwards at an alarming speed. Most recently, the World Food Programme has announced that more than 20m people are at risk of dying from starvation in four different parts of the world within the next six months. The programme’s chief economist says that in his 15 years of experience, this is the first time he has seen such a state of affairs. In three of those regions — Yemen, South Sudan and Nigeria’s Borno state — the deaths have already begun.

Pakistan has not seen any famines since gaining independence, and has been a food self-sufficient country since 1970. But even here, hunger has crept into the picture over the past decade. In most cases, famine follows crippling conflict that shuts down markets and all access to the population in the affected area. But hunger can appear in peacetime and amidst plenty as well. Sindh suffers from chronic hunger, and emergency appeals had to go out following the floods of 2011. In 2016, the Global Hunger Index showed Pakistan faced a “serious” situation with 22pc of its population malnourished. Unicef has said Pakistan’s children are at risk from malnutrition, while the World Food Programme says Pakistan ranks 77 out of a list of 109 on the Global Food Security Index with six out of 10 Pakistanis being food-insecure. This is not yet starvation level, but it is a serious rollback from where we were headed in the years following 1970. Amongst all the regressive trends to deplore in today’s world, the re-emergence of hunger and famine, amidst plenty, must figure among the top items on the list.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2017