Islamabad, February 24 – The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, covering 45 vulnerable rural districts in Pakistan, has revealed that 7.5 million people – 21 per cent of the population assessed – face crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity from December last year to March 2026. Of these, 1.25 million people are in emergency, a level below famine and characterized by food shortages and increasing malnutrition, according to a report.
The data shows that many households cannot meet basic food needs without resorting to harmful coping strategies. The survey covers selected rural districts in Balochistan, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and not the entire country, and is awaiting formal provincial endorsement, as detailed in an editorial in Pakistan's leading daily, Dawn.
It mentioned that the residual damage from the 2025 monsoon floods, prolonged drought, and localized insecurity have impacted farm and pastoral incomes in Pakistan. High wheat flour prices, expensive fuel and transport, and heavy reliance on markets affect purchasing power. Many families have reported increasing debt. Water shortages, crop diseases, and expensive inputs result in limited production. Trade disruptions and insecurity further exacerbate the problem in border districts in Pakistan.
A modest easing is expected after the wheat harvest and seasonal livestock sales, as an estimated 6.7 million people are expected to face “crisis” or worse between April and September. The Dawn editorial indicates that in Pakistan, access is the key constraint, not availability.
Last month, a report highlighted that Pakistan is struggling to afford food and education. A 20-year comparison of household consumption in Pakistan shows a structural reallocation of funds towards meeting living costs rather than spending on food, according to a new poll released by Gallup Pakistan.
Data from the Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) reveals that the share of money spent by households on food has decreased from 43 per cent to 37 per cent between 2005 and 2025. During the same period, spending on housing and utilities has increased from 15 per cent to a quarter of household budgets, as mentioned in an editorial in 'The News International'.
"Gallup's analysis finds that, when viewed alongside weaker real incomes and evidence of declining food quantities, this trend likely reflects households cutting back on food consumption to cope with rising fixed expenses, such as housing and utilities, rather than food becoming more affordable. This is also not the only analysis to find that Pakistanis are cutting back on food," it highlighted.
The HIES 2024-25 survey revealed that people facing moderate-to-severe food insecurity have increased from one in six to one in four between 2018-19 and 2024-25, making it harder for residents of Pakistan to survive in the present, and the prospects for the future do not look bright.
"According to the Institute of Social and Policy Science (I-SAP)’s 15th annual report on ‘Public Financing of Education’, families are now bearing the majority of spending on education; a first in the nation's history. Of the Rs 5.03 trillion total cost of education, household spending accounts for Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 2.8 trillion while the public sector pitches in PKR 2.23 trillion," the editorial in The News International stated.
The household spending comprises Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 1.31 trillion spent on paying private school fees, PKR 613 billion on tuition and shadow education, and PKR 878 billion in other expenses. This disparity comes amid people preferring the private education system for their children and major issues related to the adequacy of the public education system.
