Pakistan: Food crisis adversely impacting children

Lahore: These days, Muhammad Taufiq, 40, quite often watches TV reports about the world food crisis. He does not always understand the entire content, but then perhaps he does not need to.

"I know what hunger is. I don't need all these experts who come on TV to 'explain' it in technical language," said Taufiq.

A girl rummaging through a heap of garbage / Photo credit: IRIN

An assistant at a newspaper office, Taufiq earns Rs 6,000 (about US$100) a month. This, he said, was insufficient to feed his family of six children, his wife and ailing mother.

"My children have never had enough to eat. I don't know what impact this is having on their health but I fret that I can't even feed them properly, let alone give them a good living," he said.

"They say things will get worse. I have been managing somehow up till now but the situation seems to be getting out of my control with the rising prices of flour and other food items."

Annual food price inflation is running at about 20%.

Taufiq's fears about the future and his children’s future are well founded. At a press conference in Islamabad in May, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) regional director for South Asia David Toole said of the food crisis: "This is the greatest challenge as about 500 children die every day in Pakistan mainly because of serious health and maternal problems among women."

"The government should unveil incentives such as the distribution of cash and other mechanisms at its disposal for people with limited resources all over the country to minimise the impact of wheat and rice shortages," Toole warned.

Children at risk

The food crisis could also have an adverse impact on child nutrition. According to UNICEF, 38% of children are under weight; 37% are stunted, or unable to attain the expected height for their age; and 13% are wasted or unable to attain the expected weight for their age.

UNICEF also reports that Pakistan has made “insufficient” progress in reaching its Millennium Development Goal of tackling childhood malnutrition.

"I know my children are not growing well. My employer, who can feed her children good food, has a five-year-old son. His clothes are too big even for my nine-year-old, although compared to his own peers, that child is of average size.

Everywhere you look, poor children are shorter and frailer," said Nasreen Bibi, 28, a domestic servant who earns Rs 3,000 a month (US$50).

Pediatrician Afzal Sheikh said children's growth was badly affected if they did not receive sufficient calories and food.

"Also, immunity in undernourished children weakens, and they become more likely to contract infections compared to those who have a balanced diet," Sheikh said, explaining that this added to health issues and further impeded growth.

In its annual report for last year, UNICEF said that about 420,000 children under the age of five died every year in Pakistan, and warned that the figure could surge if the government did not tackle rising food prices.