Is Pakistan’s National Action Plan sufficient in catering Food Insecurity?

In Blog
January 5, 2021
Mahnoor Islam
22 Views
0 comments

Food security is vital towards one’s growth. Even though Pakistan has introduced a policy which looks after food security and production, Pakistan is still unable to control its numbers in terms of hunger and food insecurity. Food security occurs when “when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe

Food security is vital towards one’s growth. Even though Pakistan has introduced a policy which looks after food security and production, Pakistan is still unable to control its numbers in terms of hunger and food insecurity. Food security occurs when “when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” as defined in the World Food Summit Declaration 1996. Food security is influenced by food availability, food accessibility, food utilization, and food stability.

Furthermore, Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that: “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food…” The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966 calls upon its signatories to take steps to ensure adequate food for the people. The World Food Summit has also discussed the right to food. It had committed to halve the statistics of hunger and malnourishment by 2015 but unfortunately the number has increased since then.

Food security has also been recognized by the United Nations in their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015, in which Goal 2 is zero hunger. These goals are a universal call to member states to ensure all citizens enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030 thus, it is absolutely essential that Pakistan pays attention to the SDGs.

In Pakistan, Article 9 of the Constitution of Pakistan gives Pakistan the right to life. The superior courts have interpreted the right to life to include natural rights such as right to food. The focus of Pakistan’s economic policy has always been on the reduction of poverty, hunger and malnutrition. The Five Year Plan which was implemented from 1956-60 focused on social infrastructure and social protection measures for the poor, hungry and deprived. Other examples include The Village Aid Programme (1952-61) and the Tameer-e-Watan Programme (1991). The 6th Five Year Plan in the 1980s focused on the health sector and rural development and helped improve human development.

In the 1990s, the poverty reduction strategy aimed to increase public spending on health and nutrition however the project failed. The growth rate of GDP decreased and poverty and child malnutrition increased. Recently, the Ministry of National Food Security and Research developed a National Food Security Policy in 2018. The policy discusses the creation of a National Zero Hunger Programme which will focus to achieve goals such as sustainable food production, improved food nutrition and livelihood diversification.

Some of the policies discussed in the policy include reduction of food losses along production and supply chain, one window operation to support family farmers, benefit cards, school feeding programmes, cash transfers to food insecure households, nutrition programmes and education and awareness campaigns. Unfortunately, while the policy does discuss some effective measures, hardly any of them have been implemented.

According to The World Food Program (WFP), three million people in Pakistan are experiencing food insecurity, therefore the government needs to come up with short term plans that deal with the crisis quickly. Very high level of political commitment is essential to end matters such as hunger and malnutrition. Government needs to improve its coordination and needs to introduce plans at the provincial level so that every province is catered and looked after. Pakistan needs to introduce a Food legislation making food an official right. The legislation should be based on science, provide obligations to the concerned authority and should cover all aspects of the food supply chain.

While food availability is not a very big issue in the country, the problem arises due to unequal distribution across the country. Government needs to find out the root cause of unequal distribution and make sure food is distributed equally among all provinces. Food insecurity can be brought on by natural disasters. The government needs to introduce plans which provide food for people harmed by disasters. Special focus should be given to areas who are vulnerable to natural disasters. Climate change severely affects food production therefore it is essential for the government to think about the effects and legislate accordingly to reduce the damage.

Many people in Pakistan are poor. Food assistance such as the concept of food stamps should be introduced for low income families so that they are provided with meals. A National food standards development platform should also be adopted along Science based risk assessment, inspections, laboratory testing services and proper training and education in food security.

Pakistan needs to work towards improving the living conditions of its people especially in terms of food as food can affect one’s growth, health and productivity. Now more than ever, Pakistan needs to effectively legislate on food security and introduce a plan that caters towards the needs of its citizens. Short terms goals and strict management is needed to improve the condition in the country.