ISLAMABAD: Over 16 percent households in Pakistan experience “moderate or severe” food insecurity, Pakistan’s Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) survey 2019-20 said in a report published this month and reported by local media on Thursday.
This is the seventh report of the survey, based on data from 195,000 households collected between October 2019 to March 2020.
One section of the survey evaluated “how many households suffer due to food insecurity by evaluating in terms of money, fill of nutrition food, hunger in last 12 months.”
The survey report said Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan witnessed the highest level of moderate or severe food insecurity at 29.84 percent, Sindh at 18.45 percent, Punjab at 15.16 percent and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 12.75 percent.
District-wise data in the survey showed the highest level of moderate or severe food insecurity was recorded at 48.8 percent in Barkhan in Balochistan and the lowest at 4.59 percent in Gwadar, Balochistan. In Sindh, the highest level was recorded at 34.04 percent in Kashmore and the lowest at 7.66 percent in Khairpur.
In Punjab, the highest level of moderate or severe food insecurity was in Kasur at 28.81 percent and the lowest at 4.18 percent in Okara. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the highest level was in Tank at 32.43 percent and the lowest at 3.94 percent in Shangla.
The survey reveals that across Pakistan, the percentage of children aged 10 years and older who had ever attended school was 60 percent in 2019-20, compared to 62 percent in 2014-15. Islamabad remained at the top of the list at 85 percent.
“While great strides have been made in improving literacy and participation rates, the education system remains largely elitist with access to the best educational opportunities available only to the more affluent or well-connected,” the report read.
Over 16 percent Pakistani households suffer moderate to severe food insecurity — survey
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Over 16 percent Pakistani households suffer moderate to severe food insecurity — survey
- Pakistan’s Social and Living Standards Measurement survey says southwetsern Balochistan witnessed highest level of food insecurity at 29.84 percent
- Percentage of children aged 10 years and older who had ever attended school was 60 percent in 2019-20 compared to 62 percent in 2014-15
US company eyes hydropower projects as Pakistan plans private-led power generation
- The power minister tells GE Vernova it can serve as a strong technical and investment partner
- He highlights reforms in the country’s power sector as Pakistan moves to a market-based model
ISLAMABAD: United States-based energy company GE Vernova on Monday expressed interest in expanding investment in Pakistan’s hydropower sector, an official statement said after a meeting between the company’s hydro division chief and the country’s power minister.
GE Vernova is GE’s dedicated energy company that focuses on power generation, grid technologies and renewable energy, including hydropower, wind and solar technologies, battery and energy storage systems, grid modernization and transmission solutions.
The meeting between the company’s hydropower chief, Frederic Ribieras, and the Pakistani minister, Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari, came as the country shifts toward a market-driven power sector in which private developers will lead future generation projects.
“Mr. Ribieras expressed interest in hydropower technologies,” the power ministry said in its statement. “The Minister supported this interest and said a list of potential investment projects can be shared with GE Vernova.”
Leghari told the GE Vernova official that the government wanted the private sector to take the lead in the sector and would not procure power in future.
He maintained the US company “can serve as a strong technical and investment partner.”
The minister said Pakistan was pursuing a least-cost energy strategy and had recently reached nearly 56 percent clean energy generation.
He highlighted transmission constraints and urged global investors to explore business-to-business opportunities, adding that the country needs battery-energy storage systems to support wind-power integration.
According to the statement, Ribieras proposed pumped-storage hydropower as an option, with the minister saying the government was open to reviewing all least-cost solutions.
He also highlighted the ongoing reforms, including the planned privatization of electricity distribution companies, and said GE Vernova’s expertise could support initiatives such as advanced metering infrastructure.
