The World as per the international report 2024, is still far off track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2, Zero Hunger, with the worldwide prevalence of undernourishment persisting at nearly the same level for three consecutive years after having risen sharply in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2023 between 713 and 757 million people may have faced hunger– one out of 11 people in the globe, and in Africa one out of every five. Hunger is still on the rise in Africa, but it has sustained relatively unchanged in Asia, while notable progress has been made in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
| Pakistan: Food Availability Per Capita Per Annum | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Food Items | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 P |
| Cereals | 154.5 | 161.5 | 165.9 |
| Pulses | 6.0 | 7.2 | 6.2 |
| Milk (liter) | 170.6 | 172.6 | 169.1 |
| Meat | 22.5 | 24.0 | 24.1 |
| Fish | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.8* |
| Eggs (dozen) | 7.9 | 8.7 | 8.7 |
| Edible oil/ghee | 13.4 | 15.0 | 13.5 |
| Fruits & Vegetables | 69.9 | 66.7 | 66.2* |
| Sugar | 28.4 | 29.1 | 28.1* |
| Calories/day | 2620.7 | 2742 | 2719 |
Focusing on economic access to nutritious foods, updated and enhanced estimates show that in the world greater than one-third of people – approximately 2.8 billion – could not afford a healthy diet in 2022. Inequalities are evident, with low-income countries having the largest percentage of the population that is unable to afford a healthy diet (71.5 percent) compared with lower-middle-income states (52.6 percent), upper-middle-income states (21.5 percent) and high-income states (6.3 percent). As per the recent Food Waste Index Report 2024, in 2022 alone, 1.05 billion tons of food was wasted, comprising 19 percent of the total available to consumers. This wastage occurs on multiple levels and originates mainly from our homes, where 60 percent of the total waste is recorded, amounting to 631 million tons. Subsequently, the restaurant and retail sectors contribute 290 and 131 million tons, respectively. It is worth nothing that, on average, each person wastes 79 kilograms of food per year, equal to approximately 1.3 meals per day that could alleviate hunger for those in need. Furthermore, the report estimates that approximately 13 percent of food is lost along the supply chain, from harvest to point of sale, illustrating a scenario where one-third of the food produced globally never reaches the plates of consumers. Heat and consequent drought are therefore factors that cannot be underestimated when discussing waste: food processing, transportation, and sales often result in significant volume losses, contributing up to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Experts revealed that food waste is a global tragedy. Millions of people will go hungry today because food is wasted around the world. This does not only affect the global economy and climate change, but also creates pollution and biodiversity loss.
According to the government of Pakistan officials, our country has made significant progress in promoting health and well-being through enhancing healthcare infrastructure and investing in preventive medicine. Attempts have been made to decline disparities, enhance accessibility, and build resilience against emerging health problems. No doubt, our government is committed to improving the health and nutrition of the population and is working towards attaining the SDGs 2030 targets. However, more action is required because of low healthcare spending, insufficient facilities, and lack of awareness. By addressing these problems through proactive initiatives and increased investment, by 2030 the government aims to attain these targets. For providing sufficient nutrition to the people of Pakistan, calories per capita have been observed from commonly used commodities. Over the years the availability of cereals has increased, suggesting a positive growth in staple food production. Conversely, the availability of fruits and vegetables reduced as against to FY2022. Pulses, milk, and edible oil have shown variability, with a slight decline in per capita availability in FY2024 following a rise in the last year.
While milk availability experienced a minor reduction in the FY 2024, the availability of meat and eggs over the years has consistently risen. Over the three-year period, the availability of calories per capita per day explains a modest overall rise, although a slight decline has been observed in FY2024. The cost of the minimum food basket (per capita per month) revealed fluctuations over the period from July 2023 to March 2024. A gradual rise is observed initially, with the cost rising from Rs 5826 in July to Rs 6087 in October 2023. However, the most significant surge occurred in November, when the cost rose from Rs 6087 to Rs 6256. Following slight declines in December 2023 and February 2024, the cost reaches a peak of Rs 6384 in March 2024. In general, the cost of a minimum food basket rose by 9.6 percent from July 2023 to March 2024, with noteworthy fluctuations throughout the period.