ISLAMABAD: The Global Hunger Index (GHI-2022) has ranked Pakistan at 99th position out of the 121 countries.

The report’s Pakistan chapter, which was laun­ched on Tuesday in Islam­abad, reveals the country’s score has dropped from 38.1 in 2006 to 26.1 in 2022, yet the hunger level is considered serious.

Zero score indicates a country has no issue of hunger.

“The current edition of the GHI reveals that armed conflicts, climate change, and the coronavirus pandemic are intensifying each other; as a result, up to 828 million peo­ple were forced to go hungry. As things stand, 46 countries will not even achieve a low level of hunger by 2030, much less eliminate hunger entirely. In Africa, South of the Sahara and South Asia are once again the regions with the highest rates of hun­ger. South Asia, the reg­ion with the world’s highest hunger level, has the highest child stunting rate and by far the highest child wasting rate of any world region,” it was infor­med through a statement.

In the latest GHI, Pakistan has ranked 99th out of the 121 countries with sufficient data to calculate 2022 GHI scores. With a score of 26.1, Pakistan has a level of hunger that is serious.

The GHI is a pre-reviewed annual report, jointly published by Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide and shall raise awareness and understanding of the struggle against hunger.

Aisha Jamshed, Country Director of Welthungerhilfe, said her organisation worked to assist food insecure communities and build resilience in cooperation with the civil society, government and private sector.

In his remarks, Local Government and Community Development Department (LGCDD), Punjab, Director Shafat Ali shed light on issue in focus, i.e. to ensure citizen’s participation, action, oversight, and consider local context in transformation of food systems.

It was urged that stakeholders at all governance levels must harness local voices and capacities. Communities, civil society, small producers, farmers, and indigenous groups with their local knowledge and lived experiences should shape how access to nutritious food is governed.

Helene Paust, deputy head of Development Cooperation in German Mission (Pakistan), commended the work against hunger and addressed sector as well as political recommendations.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2023