Impact of Socio-Economic Shocks on Food Insecurity: A Case Study of Pakistan

Abstract

Despite these efforts, food insecurity remains a significant development concern in Pakistan, exacerbated by socioeconomic shocks such as COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the 2022 floods, inflation, and climate change. This study compares the multidimensional food insecurity situation in the nation by analyzing nationally representative Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) data for 2018–19 and 2024–25. A Multidimensional Food Insecurity Index (MFII) was constructed based on four dimensions: availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability. The findings reveal that although food-secure households increased slightly from 15.8% to 18.17%, moderate food insecurity became the dominant category, rising from 34.8% to 38.78%, indicating that many households remained food insecure rather than becoming food secure. Serious food insecurity remained high at 32.99%, while 9.32% of households continued to face alarming food insecurity. On the provincial level, multidimensional food insecurity continued to be high in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, with the number of moderate food insecure increasing from 17.65% to 41.94% and 18.71% to 40.09%, respectively. The results indicate that, even with government support, socio-economic shocks are still affecting the resilience of households and clearly highlight the importance of adopting specific policies that can enhance long-term multidimensional food security in the country.