More than a third of Pak population unable to get proper food due to poverty, lack of resources: Report
Dec 06, 2021
Balochistan [Pakistan], December 6 : At least 37 per cent population of Pakistan is suffering from malnutrition, said chairperson of the women parliamentarian forum in the Balochistan Assembly Dr Rubaba Khan Buledi, adding that this ratio rises to nearly 50 per cent in Balochistan.
As per a nutrition survey, more than one-third of the children are victims of malnutrition in the country and the majority of these children are from Sindh and Balochistan provinces, Express Daily reported.
Dr Buledi said that Nutrition Stabilization Centers are being established in Balochistan with the help of the World Health Organization for taking care of the children suffering from malnutrition.
"About 37 per cent population of Pakistan is unable to get proper food and the basic reasons for malnutrition are poverty and lack of resources," she added.
According to the UN, in July Pakistan's Balochistan province faced a food emergency for about 500,000 people.
"An estimated 500,000 people are facing crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity while another 100,000 people require immediate life-saving assistance. The dry spell and reduced water availability are destroying crops and threatening the survival of livestock which are the main livelihood and food source for many families in the affected areas," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
Pakistan's Sindh province is struggling with basic needs including drinking water, education and medical facilities and its Thar district is the worst victim of it.
According to media reports, Thar is the worst affected district of Sindh province as clean drinking water still is a big challenge here. Several children die because of a lack of good medical facilities and malnutrition.
The shortage comes amid the flood season in August in the river system.