Food insecurity

Food insecurity in Interior Sindh Pakistan

Food insecurity

Sindh is one of the provinces in Pakistan with the highest prevalence of food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty. In 2020, the population faced multiple shocks including high food prices, locust outbreaks and heavy monsoon rains/flooding, all exacerbated by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 3.1 million people (26 percent of the rural population analyzed) are estimated to be facing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) in the current period of March to June 2021, corresponding to the end of the lean season and the beginning of the harvest season. These include around 2.26 million people (19 percent of the rural population) in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) and 0.8 million people (7 percent of the rural population) in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency) across the nine districts analyzed. At least 5 percent of the population analyzed in all the districts is in Phase 4, and between 15 to 30 percent in IPC Phase 3 or 4. The analysis of the projection period (July-September 2021) corresponding to the post-harvest season indicates that the number of people in IPC Phase 3 or above is expected to reduce to 2.6 million (22 percent of the rural population). Urgent action is required to protect livelihoods and reduce food consumption gaps of people in Crisis and save lives and livelihoods of people in Emergency.