Food Security Atlas for Pakistan
“Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food, and to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life."
World Food Summit Plan of Action (Rome Italy 13 November 1996).
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OVERVIEW
Despite achieving an economic growth rate of 6 percent in 2007-2008, a troubled political scenario, unstable law and order, soaring fuel and food prices and turmoil in international financial markets have brought Pakistan to the brink of financial collapse.
Eighty-five percent of the population earns less than US$2 per day, and 23 percent of Pakistan’s people are unable to purchase enough food to lead a healthy life. This has contributed to poor human development, disproportionately so among women and children. Pakistan is one of the countries worst-hit by high food prices. According to a WFP-led inter-agency assessment in June 2008, an additional 10 million people have become food insecure, bringing the number of Pakistanis with access to less than 1,700 kcal per day to 45 million.
WFP’s assistance is focused on the most food-insecure people: the poorest of the poor living in marginal, remote areas where socio-economic indicators are far worse than in the rest of the country. One WFP operation is specially focused on addressing food insecurity in the tribal FATA region. A WFP emergency operation in response to high food prices complements government efforts in 20 districts identified as most impacted and vulnerable. WFP’s Country Programme covers additional priority districts in Balochistan, North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and parts of Sindh. WFP aims to improve access to food in ways that enable women and girls to take advantage of development opportunities through school feeding, mother and child nutrition and socio economic development programmes. Goals include increased enrolment rates for girls, increased access to health services, and increased ability of rural women to create and preserve physical assets.
PROGRAMMES
Country Programme
Activity 1: Assistance to Girls’ Primary Education
During the nine-month school year, girls receive one 4-litre tin of oil every month, provided they attend school for a minimum of 20 days. The activity has helped to increase attendance and promotion rates in primary schools under WFP assistance.
Activity 2: Promoting Safe Motherhood
Pregnant and nursing mothers who attend 500 health centres around the country receive a 4-litre tin of oil. Now over 63 percent of eligible women receive health services at government health centres assisted by WFP, compared to only 20 percent in the base period.
Activity 3: Creating Assets for Rural Women
Women receive food through women’s organizations as they participate in work to
Post Earthquake Relief and Recovery Operation South Asia
WFP responded to the devastating earthquake in October 2005 by providing emergency relief to nearly one million affected people. The focus of the PRRO was on rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure, later shifting to asset creation activities, such as nursery raising, kitchen gardening, tree planting and water harvesting infrastructure. The PRRO has been extended until 30 June 2009 to support earthquake-affected people whose suffering has been accentuated due to high food prices.
Assistance to Food Insecure Households: Balochistan and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)
The FATA PRRO, which operates along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, contributes to the government’s efforts to bring these regions into the mainstream. The PRRO is designed on nutritional-based incentives to contribute to improving nutrition and the health status of women and children and to develop human resources. It is jointly implemented with the Government of Pakistan (FATA Directorate of Education & Health and Forest Department) and other UN Agencies. The Government of Pakistan has contributed wheat to this project.
Assistance to Vulnerable Populations Affected by High Food Prices
WFP is assisting the Government of Pakistan to mitigate the negative impact on households in the areas most affected by high food prices. WFP’s assistance is aimed at reducing the gap between the most basic food consumption needs, and what the government and others can provide, by reaching households through schools, and implementing food-for-work activities in 20 most food insecure districts.
Special Projects: Universal Salt Iodization (USI), Commercial Wheat Fortification and HIV/AIDS
Apart from regular programmes, WFP is also implementing three special projects 1) to increase household utilization as well as production of iodized salt in selected districts; 2) to facilitate fortification of wheat flour produced for local markets in earthquake affected districts and to increase awareness and acceptability among producers and consumers regarding the importance of flour fortification; and 3) to increase HIV and AIDS awareness amongst beneficiary communities through WFP assisted MCH clinics in Rural Health Centres (RHCs), and capacity building of the health care providers.
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