• UN agency says over 60pc of citizens unable to afford healthy diet
• Calls for overhaul of agrifood system
ISLAMABAD: The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has emphasised the urgent need to transform Pakistan’s agrifood system to improve access to healthy diets, a critical step towards addressing all forms of malnutrition and their related costs to society.
The UN agency, in its latest assessment on “Food Supply for Healthy Diets in Pakistan”, observed that a major challenge in the country’s current food supply is the persistent mismatch between the quantities of food available and those required for the population to consume a healthy diet aligned with the national food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs).
“Enabling access to healthy diets for all is essential to achieving Pakistan’s national development priorities. Yet over 60 per cent of Pakistanis cannot afford a healthy diet, contributing to the high rates of malnutrition across the country. At the same time, diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCD) are rising, while various forms of undernutrition persist. Unhealthy diets are a common cause of all forms of malnutrition and contribute directly to morbidity and mortality from NCD,” the assessment shows.
The FAO listed priority policy actions to strengthen demand for healthy diets through consumer-focused policies; updating Pakistan’s FBDGs to reflect nutrition, health, and environmental priorities and use it for nutrition education and behavior change; introducing evidence-based fiscal measures, including taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages and other foods high in sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats; introducing front-of-pack nutrition labelling to help consumers make informed food choices; protecting vulnerable populations; restricting the marketing of unhealthy foods, particularly those targeting children, expanding nutritious school meal programmes; and strengthening social protection programmes to improve access to nutritious foods.
The assessment recommended reorienting the agrifood system to deliver healthy diets, aligning agricultural policies and investment priorities to increase support for the production of vegetables, fruits, pulses, roots and tubers across the country, while supporting milk production in some regions; and providing greater incentives for food processors to meet food safety and quality standards and reformulate foods to reduce salt, sugar and unhealthy fats.
It called for promoting healthier retail food environments, through investments in storage, cold chains, and market infrastructure to reduce losses. These actions, combined with regular monitoring, can contribute to increasing access to and consumption of healthy diets in Pakistan, both today and in the future.
The FAO assessment says large gaps were observed for several nutritious food groups, particularly vegetables, roots and tubers, fruits, and legumes and pulses.
However, important misalignment exists between Pakistan’s dietary guidelines and food supply, with supply gaps for several nutritious food groups, particularly vegetables, roots and tubers, fruits, legumes and pulses, while the supply for staples and sugar exceeds what is needed for healthy diets.
“Enabling equitable access to diverse, nutritious, safe, and affordable foods that support healthy diets is a policy imperative for Pakistan,” the assessment said.
Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2026
