Pakistan on the brink: UN warns country can face acute food insecurity amidst political instability

The United Nations (UN) has predicted the rise of food insecurity in Pakistan amidst political turmoil, worsening the situation in a country still recovering from its 2022 flood emergency.

The UN made the prediction in a report titled 'Hunger Hotspots: FAO-WFP Early Warnings on Severe Food Insecurity', Pakistan-based Dawn reported. The report has been jointly produced by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) and covers the period from June to November 2023.

The report noted the worsening situation of the country, one still recovering from the 2022 floods. Devastating floods swept over the country in 2022, following which the government declared an emergency. The floods inflicted destruction and economic losses in the agriculture sector totalling PKR 30 billion.

The floods were only one of the country's problems. The report points towards Pakistan’s financial crisis, highlighting the impact the global economic slump and rising state debt have had on the country. It stated that the government has an external debt of USD 77.5 billion to pay between April 2023 and June 2026, while having a GDP of USD 350 Billion in 2021.

The report acknowledged the growing political unrest in the region that has prevented the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from extending a loan line and has halted extra support from bilateral partners.

With the October 2023 elections looming close, the instability in the country is only projected to grow further. The decline of the Pakistani rupee, paired with the country’s lack of foreign reserves, has significantly hurt its capacity to import essential food and energy supplies. This has resulted in raised food costs and nationwide energy cuts.

The combined political and economic instability in the region has reduced the households’ power to purchase food and other essentials.

The report has asked for the strengthening of disaster management agencies in the country and expanding their capacity to include forecast-based finance and risk insurance in disaster management and sectoral contingency plans.

It has also suggested tweaking existing social protection schemes and programmes to promote effective preventive action and humanitarian response via social protection systems.