Food insecurity

The number of people who live below the poverty line and the ones who are confronted with grave problem of food insecurity has alarmingly increased over the past twelve years. These two most neglected issues during the tenures of elected governments of the democracy clamouring two mainstreams have resulted in mass malnutrition in both adults and children and the stunted growth among children. National Nutrition Survey, 2018 states that more than 50 percent people are suffering from malnutrition, whereas 37 percent households are faced with food insecurity.

The worrying factor that the survey report lime-lights is the partial hereditary dimension of malnutrition in children who are breastfed by their mothers. The reason cited is that the married women in their fertility age give birth to weak children because the mothers themselves could not get necessary nutrants in daily diet during pregnancy phase and breastfeeding years of their babies.

The Prime Minister Imran Khan had made a particular mention of malnutrition and stunted growth among children in his first speech after taking the oath of office in August last year. It raised the expectation level among the people of the country that federal governments will prioritize the solution to tackle the twin menace but they did not know that after the enforcement of 18th Amendment and transfer of 57 percent plus financial resources to the provinces under 7th National Finance Commission Award of 2010 the central government has a limited role in this regard. The Ministry of Agriculture had been devolved to the federating units of the country under this amendment. The worst types of cartels have been established by the feudal and mercantile classes that dominates the two mainstream political parties. It has made almost impossible the availability of nutrition rich food commodities at affordable price to the people of poor and lower middle classes. These cartels have been left unbridled to raise prices and create shortages of food items by making dysfunctional the Competitive Commission of Pakistan.

A federal ministry of National Food Security has been set up by the last PML-N government. But ironically the burning issue of providing food security to the poor people was not included in its mandatory functions. The ministry has been tasked with formulations of plans for agriculture research and working out policy for the import of agriculture inputs. Just three days before the end of the tenure of government, as a political gimmick, first ever national food security policy was announced on 29th May, 2018 with a loud but hollow promise to set up National Food Security Council with a mandated function of ensuring availability of food commodities of daily consumption through a mechanism of increased agriculture production. It is a million dollar question how this daunting job can be done when brute cartels are owned by influential political elite who have greater say in federal and provincial governments’ decision making? Unfortunately, a few prominent faces of food commodities cartels enjoy greater clout in the ruling party PTI as well, notwithstanding Prime Ministers’ worries about malnutrition and stunted growth among children.

Health, education and provision of clean drinking water fall with in the domain of provincial governments. I was expected that transfer of additional financial resources to the provinces under the NFC Award shall be honestly and judiciously utilised on the projects of social sector development but it did not happen and the additional funds were grossly misappropriated. The clean water companies’ scandal in Punjab, the rising number of infants’ and children death in Thar, the drinking water crisis in Karachi, the case of massive embezzlement of public funds by a finance secretary Mushtaq Raisani in Baluchistan reveal how the previous governments remained indifferent to the problems of malnutrition and food insecurity.

Both long term policies and short term measures are needed to address these issues. The strategies aimed at poverty alleviation and growth will provide short term solution as the issue of male nutrition is directly related to the rampant poverty caused by massive unemployment. Decartelization by reactivating and reinvigorating the Competitive Commission of Pakistan can buttress the efforts of fighting malnutrition. Universal education up to secondary level for both genders will help bring down the population growth.

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