Food security challenges for Pakistan during COVID‐19 pandemic: An overview of the response plan

• Published date: 01 May 2021
• Author: Hafiz Ubaid‐ur‐Rehman,Waqas Asghar,Nauman Khalid
• Date: 01 May 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/wfp2.12026

82

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wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/wfp2 World Food Policy. 2021;7:82–89.

© 2021 Policy Studies Organization

Received: 19 October 2020

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Revised: 26 January 2021

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Accepted: 4 April 2021

DOI: 10.1002/wfp2.12026

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Food security challenges for Pakistan during

COVID- 19 pandemic: An overview of the

response plan

HafizUbaid- ur- Rehman

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WaqasAsghar

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NaumanKhalid

School of Food and Agricultural

Sciences, University of Management and

Technology, Lahore, Pakistan

Correspondence

Nauman Khalid, School of Food and

Agricultural Sciences, University of

Management and Technology, Lahore

54000, Pakistan.

Email: nauman.khalid@umt.edu.pk

Abstract

The COVID- 19 pandemic has imparted a significant impact

on the global economic conditions. The food security status

in the developing and under- developed countries is getting

worse with the progression of the pandemic. According

to the World Food Program (WFP), 271.8 million people

were acutely food insecure due to the destructive impact of

COVID- 19 pandemic across the world. Similarly, around

20%– 30% population of Pakistan, that is, 40– 62 million

people, has been suffering from acute food insecurity due to

the pandemic, and other socio- economic and environmen-

tal/climatic issues. The highly vulnerable groups include

daily wage class, refugees, and people living in drought-

affected areas, locust- affected areas and areas with winter-

ized emergency. The COVID- 19 response plan of Pakistan

aimed at improving the food security situation and protect-

ing the livelihood of the demographic groups highly vul-

nerable to the COVID- 19 pandemic through defining the

implementing the policy for ensuring the uninterrupted food

production and supply chain, integrating the food produc-

tion system into the COVID- 19 relief packages, adopting

innovative practices to enhance the functionality of food

supply chain market, and treatment of acutely malnourished