11 million people face acute food insecurity in Pakistan: FAO

According to the 2025 Global Report on Food Crises by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 11 million people (22% of the analysed population) in 68 flood-affected rural districts of Balochistan, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa faced acute food insecurity between November 2024 and March 2025, Dawn news agency reported. This includes 1.7 million people in emergency conditions. The population under analysis increased by 38% compared to 2024, limiting direct comparisons.

While the situation was slightly better than the previous lean season, weather extremes continued to harm livelihoods. Between November 2023 and January 2024, 11.8 million people faced similar food insecurity levels, with 2.2 million in emergency.

The report highlights persistently high acute malnutrition rates, affecting 2.1 million children aged 6 to 59 months between March 2023 and January 2024. Malnutrition is worsened by poor diet quality, climate shocks, limited nutrition services, and health challenges exacerbated by floods damaging water and sanitation infrastructure.

Pakistan remains vulnerable to floods and droughts, especially in Balochistan, KP, and Sindh, where food crises have been recurrent.