PBS regularly monitoring food insecurity, malnutrition trends: NA told

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd May, 2026) Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Federal education and Professional Training, Farah Naz Akbar on Friday informed the National Assembly that the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) was regularly compiling and updating data on food insecurity and malnutrition trends through internationally recognized surveys.

Responding to a question during the Question Hour, she said that PBS, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), conducted the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) survey for 2024-25, which provided a standardized and internationally comparable assessment of household access to adequate food.

She said the FIES assessments had been incorporated into national statistical systems to monitor the extent, severity and distribution of food insecurity among different socio-economic groups across the country.

The parliamentary secretary said complementary information on nutrition and living standards was also collected through surveys such as the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM).

She explained that the FIES survey was based on eight experience-based indicators, including concerns about food shortages, inability to eat nutritious meals, limited food variety, skipping meals, reduced food intake, running out of food, experiencing hunger and going without food for an entire day due to lack of resources.

Based on these indicators, households are categorized as food secure, mildly food insecure, moderately food insecure or severely food insecure.

Despite these issues, she said the government was addressing food insecurity through targeted social protection measures and agricultural support initiatives.

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Responding to a supplementary question by Syeda Shehla Raza, the parliamentary secretary acknowledged that regions such as Balochistan and Sindh remained more vulnerable due to poverty and climate-related impacts.

She noted that Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) still reflected moderate and severe food insecurity levels of around 24 percent.

Farah Naz Akbar said these challenges were being addressed through the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), under which the government was providing around Rs716 billion in assistance.

She said approximately 15 million beneficiaries were currently being supported under the programme, and the government expects further expansion in the upcoming budget.

She added that efforts were also underway to improve agricultural productivity, particularly wheat and rice output, which would help stabilize food prices and reduce food inflation.

The parliamentary secretary expressed optimism that continued reforms and targeted interventions would further reduce food insecurity across the country.

She added that efforts were also underway to improve agricultural productivity, particularly wheat and rice output, which would help stabilize food prices and reduce food inflation.

The parliamentary secretary expressed optimism that continued reforms and targeted interventions would further reduce food insecurity across the country.

APP/tsw-zah