A NEW UN-backed report has listed Pakistan among 10 countries where acute food insecurity is most concentrated. This finding may seem surprising for a country with a large agricultural base. But it should not be. Essentially, the concentration of food insecurity in Pakistan is the predictable outcome of the deep-rooted weaknesses in the country’s agriculture sector, rocked by repeated climate shocks and persistent economic fragility. The Global Report on Food Crises merely quantifies what has long been known: food insecurity in Pakistan is chronic rather than temporary or cyclical. The only consolation is the finding that fewer people were classified in the most severe categories in 2025 compared to the previous year, suggesting that emergency responses and some stabilisation in prices may have had an effect. Nonetheless, this is not a turnaround.

The expanded coverage relative to earlier surveys underscores a crisis that is deeper and wider while the underlying drivers, including erratic monsoons, floods and economic stress, remain in place. The fact that over 11m people — 9.3m under “crisis” conditions and 1.7m in “emergency” — still face acute food insecurity exposes a thin margin of resilience. Climate volatility remains a force multiplier. Recurrent floods and extreme weather events are destroying crops and eroding rural livelihoods, pushing vulnerable populations into a cycle of asset depletion and dependency. In Balochistan, KP and Sindh, where deprivation already limits access to healthcare, nutrition and clean water, these shocks have a compounding effect. The result is not just hunger but chronic malnutrition representing a less visible crisis but one with far-reaching consequences. What makes this particularly concerning is the economic dimension. Food insecurity is weighing heavily on the national economy. A rising food import bill places additional pressure on an already strained external account. At the same time, a malnourished workforce undermines productivity and ultimately constrains long-term growth. Globally, the outlook is hardly reassuring. The report points to a world where conflict, climate extremes and shrinking humanitarian assistance are converging to sustain high levels of hunger. The confirmation of famine conditions in places such as Gaza and Sudan signals how severe and entrenched the crisis has become. However, Pakistan’s challenges are largely rooted in policy and governance gaps rather than outright conflict.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2026