Pakistan’s 2026 Global Hunger Index score of 23.5 places it at the bottom of South Asia, according to a Dawn report released on Tuesday.
The study links the decline to a sharp rise in food prices, a deepening economic crisis, and a series of climate‑related disasters that have battered the country’s agricultural output.
Since 2018, Pakistan’s undernourishment indicator has slipped from a low to a medium level, while child wasting has edged toward the high‑risk threshold, signalling a regression in nutritional outcomes.
In the wider region, South Asia’s overall score fell from 37.5 in 2000 to 23.5 in 2026, yet progress has stalled since 2018, with Pakistan and Afghanistan still struggling to reverse gains.
Heavy rainfall in Punjab and southern Sindh caused extensive crop damage this year, while Afghanistan’s cereal season was disrupted by drought and heat, underscoring the growing threat of extreme weather to food security.
The report warns that 218 million people across South Asia were undernourished between 2023 and 2025, and urges donors and governments to prioritize economic reforms, food‑access initiatives, and climate‑adaptation measures.