Pakistan is ranked 99th out of 121 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI-2022).
The Pakistan part of the report, which was launched on Tuesday in Islamabad, reveals that the country’s score has declined from 38.1 in 2006 to 26.1 in 2022, despite the fact that the hunger level is rated severe.
A score of zero shows that a country has no hunger problem.
“According to the current edition of the GHI, armed conflicts, climate change, and the coronavirus pandemic are all intensifying; as a result, up to 828 million people have been forced to go hungry.” As things currently stand, 46 countries will not even attain a low level of hunger by 2030, let alone remove it completely. South of the Sahara and South Asia are once again the regions with the greatest rates of hunger in Africa. “South Asia, the region with the highest level of hunger, has the highest child stunting rate and by far the highest child wasting rate of any world region,” according to a statement.
Pakistan was placed 99th out of 121 countries having enough data to compute GHI scores for 2022 in the most recent GHI. Pakistan has a serious level of hunger, with a score of 26.1.
The GHI is a peer-reviewed annual study published jointly by Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide that aims to raise awareness and understanding of the fight against hunger.
Welthungerhilfe Country Director Aisha Jamshed stated that her agency works with civil society, government, and the commercial sector to support food-insecure people and build resilience.
Director Shafat Ali of the Local Government and Community Development Department (LGCDD) of Punjab offered light on the topic at hand, namely ensuring public engagement, action, oversight, and consideration of local context in the transformation of food systems.
It was advised that stakeholders at all levels of governance leverage local voices and capacities. Communities, civic society, small producers, farmers, and indigenous groups should decide how access to nutritious food is managed based on their local knowledge and lived experiences.
Helene Paust, deputy head of Development Cooperation at the German Mission in Pakistan, praised the work against hunger and made sector and policy recommendations.