Acute food insecurity drops in year’s second half: report

Published November 21, 2024
oVER eight million people were projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity during the first half of 2024, according to a May analysis.—AFP/file
oVER eight million people were projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity during the first half of 2024, according to a May analysis.—AFP/file

ISLAMABAD: With slightly improved availability of food, the number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity has decreased during the second half of 2024, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis.

The analysis projected improvement in food availability during the last half of 2024, between monsoon season and post-harvest, decreasing the number of individuals expected to face acute food insecurity to 7.9 million.

About 8m people were projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity during the first half of 2024, largely attributed to climate shocks, food access constraints, livestock mortality, and reduced livelihoods.

According to the ‘Pakistan Assistance Overview’ released by the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance of USAID, the bureau provided nearly $16m to Pakistan to support early recovery, risk reduction and resilience activities to strengthen vulnerable populations’ resilience to disasters induced by natural hazards. With this funding, the BHA of USAID supports livelihood-strengthening activities, including facilitating training on livestock management practices.

Bureau’s partner organisation, provided cash grants and capacity-strengthening training for women to diversify livelihood sources through fruit and vegetable processing and preservation. With BHA support, the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development provided capacity-strengthening, cash grants and in-kind support to small-scale farmers with on-farm and off-farm livelihoods.

BHA provided $5.3m in nutrition support to prevent and treat acute malnutrition in Pakistan during fiscal year 2024. Bureau’s partners, World Health Organisation and Unicef treated more than 25,700 individuals for acute malnutrition by providing ready-to-use therapeutic food and supporting infant and young children feeding practices across Balochistan and Sindh provinces.

In tandem with BHA funding, the World Food Programme (WFP) implemented a community-based approach to treat and manage acute malnutrition among children and pregnant and lactating women. WFP’s strategy aims to fortify the capacity of local and national health systems as well as enable local communities to identify and manage acute malnutrition.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2024

Follow Dawn Business on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

Editorial

Out of control
Updated 19 Feb, 2025

Out of control

AS bodies continue to fall in Kurram despite a state-sanctioned ceasefire, one wonders how long local militants’...
Hollow words
19 Feb, 2025

Hollow words

IT is not uncommon for politicians to resort to the use of hyperbole in order to boost their public standing. ...
Migration matters
19 Feb, 2025

Migration matters

THE grass, it seems, did appear greener on the other side to millions of people as evidenced by the latest UN ...
Cholistan project
Updated 18 Feb, 2025

Cholistan project

GPI goals align with Pakistan's broader economic aims but the manner in which the initiative was launched raises questions.
Right to know
18 Feb, 2025

Right to know

IT is an unfortunate paradox that while on paper Pakistan has some of the most impressive right to information laws,...
Dam dispute
18 Feb, 2025

Dam dispute

THE situation in Chilas needs attention and a fair-minded approach so that it can be resolved amicably. Diamer ...