• Economic instability erodes household purchasing power; heavy rains, floods trigger acute crop losses
• South Asia remains in the ‘serious’ category; global hunger rises after two decades
ISLAMABAD:
asserted
hunger → erode → decades
Pakistan recorded the highest score in South Asia on the 2026 Global Hunger Index released on Wednesday, reflecting a worsening food security crisis driven by economic instability, climate shocks and global conflicts.
asserted
Pakistan → record → instability
Published jointly by Welthungerhilfe, the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict at Ruhr University Bochum, and the Swiss organisation Helvetas under the theme “No Security Without Food Security”, the report reveals that progress in South Asia has largely stagnated, with conditions in Pakistan and Afghanistan deteriorating since 2018.
asserted
conditions → publish → 2018
In Pakistan, economic instability and sharp food price inflation have eroded households’ purchasing power and constrained access to food.
asserted
instability → erode → food
Undernourishment in the country has climbed from low in 2018 to medium, while child wasting has risen toward the high threshold.
asserted
wasting → climb → threshold
Across South Asia, the situation remains serious with a regional score of 23.5.
asserted
situation → remain → 23.5
Although the region’s score has fallen substantially from an alarming 37.5 in 2000, most of that progress occurred before 2018.
asserted
most → fall → 2018
While Pakistan and Afghanistan have moved from the alarming to the serious category since 2000, child stunting remains very high.
asserted
stunting → move → 2000
Pakistan’s stunting rate continues to fall, whereas Afghanistan’s has edged up since 2018.
asserted
Afghanistan → continue → 2018
Child mortality rates in both nations have declined from very high levels in 2000 to medium levels today.
asserted
rates → decline → levels
The report warned that high levels of acute food insecurity will persist across the region.
asserted
levels → warn → region
Heavy rains and flooding caused localised crop losses in parts of Pakistan and Bangladesh, while below-average rainfall and above-average temperatures negatively affected Afghanistan’s 2026 cereal-growing season.
asserted
rainfall → cause → season
According to Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates, 218 million people in South Asia, including Iran, were undernourished between 2023 and 2025, representing roughly one-third of the global total.
uncertain
people → accord → total
Globally, hunger is rising again after nearly two decades of progress.
asserted
hunger → rise → progress
The 2026 global score stands at 18.1, worsening from 17.6 in 2018.
asserted
score → stand → 2018
Hunger has increased in 32 countries since 2018, and 57 countries are on track to miss achieving even low hunger levels by 2030.
asserted
countries → increase → 2030
Three of the index’s four indicators — undernourishment, child stunting and child wasting — have worsened, while only child mortality has continued to decline slightly.
asserted
mortality → worsen → indicators
State-based armed conflicts, now at their highest level since World War II, alongside frequent extreme weather events, are major drivers of this reversal.
asserted
conflicts → base → reversal
The war in Iran and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab Strait are driving up fuel, transportation and fertiliser costs.
Meanwhile, Russia’s war in Ukraine and Black Sea export restrictions threaten higher wheat prices, making basic supplies unaffordable in the Global South.
asserted
supplies → drive → South
Compounding the crisis, international spending on food security has fallen to 2016-2017 levels, forcing cuts to aid programmes and emergency rations.
asserted
spending → compound → programmes
The report urged governments to reverse funding cuts for humanitarian assistance and data collection to prevent and manage future crises.
asserted
report → urge → crises
The Aporia
