The Vicious Cycle of Malnutrition in Pakistan

Malnutrition in Pakistan is not rare and it doesn’t get any worse than this part of South Asia. Too many children are chronically malnourished (almost 50% of all children in Pakistan) and too many people in Pakistan (60% of the population) are desperate enough to be deemed food insecure. These are people that cannot get their hands on enough adequate food. This is bad news for everyone, as malnourished people are too weak to prosper and contribute. Malnourishment weakens entire families. A malnourished mother must look after underweight children who will most likely suffer the same fate as their mother. Big families that cannot obtain clean water end up having children that fail to survive. Nearly 400,000 infants die each year in Pakistan due to the absence of nutrients and minerals. That is the end result of severe malnourishment and maternal undernutrition (awkward pregnancies due to malnourishment).

To make things worse many malnourished Pakistanis are poor, not that hygienic and not always easy to reach, residing in areas where floods, droughts and earthquakes often wreak havoc and urban slums with unsatisfactory infrastructure. Vulnerable communities like these suffered tremendously during the Covid-19 pandemic. Their plight is not only exacerbated by the illnesses like Covid-19 and anaemia but also the dire global recession.

If milk prices, wheat prices, oil prices and sugar prices double malnourished Pakistanis will find it even harder to cope. According to wfp.org, an average Pakistani household spends 50.8% of the family’s income on food, making them particularly vulnerable when faced with high food prices. By the time the Covid-19 pandemic comes to an end, 140 million more Pakistanis will be poorer than what is acceptable. With hyperinflation, rising unemployment, a currency in free fall and the risk of an IMF default, malnourished Pakistanis cannot break through such vicious cycles. They will have to wait for local charities/charities that deliver foreign aid to intervene.

Pakistan is an agricultural nation but the lack of fresh food and the lack of variety is concerning. Pakistanis have to come to terms with the worst form of food security in the world (only nations like Bangladesh India and Afghanistan are familiar with such widespread malnutrition) which impacts the productivity of the population. If the end result is rising unemployment, more malnourished families will be stuck without sufficient sources of income.

Since Pakistan is a major producer of wheat, plenty of wheat is distributed to needy communities. More charity-focused start-ups and projects that suit everyone and benefit the masses should be encouraged, since Pakistan’s best produce is either exported or sold to wealthier Pakistanis. The government must look to break these vicious cycles and stop weakening the purchasing powers of poorer families, so that those families are not put off by high food prices.

Vulnerable families need all the help that they can get. Empowering vulnerable communities from the word go is a must because malnourishment inevitably hinders children who are meant to grow mentally and physically. Groceries, water wells, rations and aid are usually donated, although nothing beats stable employment and social mobility. Relief projects led by organisations like UNICEF and USAID who intervene by delivering food supplements/therapeutic food and advising malnourished families about adequate nutrition (UNICEF) as well as providing grants to NGOs that bolster humanitarian responses across the country in order to support disaster affected communities (USAID) are just as important.