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India and Pakistan are at war but not against Hunger
10-18-2016
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) released its annual results on Global Hunger Index (GHI) this week. It is absolutely mind boggling to see that once again, world’s two nuclear power states, who are constantly totting their nuclear arsenals at each other, India and Pakistan, are once again, abysmal failure when it comes to feeding their own people. Both India and Pakistan are at war.
On September 24th, merely, few days before the Indian Military carried out what it claims to be a “Surgical Strike” in Pakistani held Kashmir, the Indian PM, Modi had declared a War on poverty, unemployment, and malnutrition. Addressing the Pakistani population to do the same. As these two nations with so much potential, yet racing to reach for the bottom ranking on Global Hunger Index. India ranking 97, and Pakistan at 107 is mind boggling.
Among Asian countries, India and Pakistan are at the bottom of the rankings in the GHI. It is estimated that if hunger continues to decrease at the same rate it has been falling since 1992, around 45 countries, including India and Pakistan will remain far short of the United Nations' goal to end hunger by that year.
The conundrum for the leaders of the developing nations to get their act together in prioritizing to tackle, hunger, unemployment, and malnutrition domestically is orchestrated by design to fail. The failure is engineered by the IMF and the World Bank embedded in their expectations on exports and other economic targets.
The international community’s expectations from the developing countries suffering from malnutrition and hunger are confounding? There seems to be an absolute contradictions based on IMF, and World Bank’s expectations from these developing nations to increase exports, specifically agricultural exports. Something these nations desperately need to tackle hunger and malnutrition. Simultaneously, expecting these nations to tackle, hunger and malnutrition among its citizens.
The international community, specifically the western leaders also need to get their act together and prioritize their expectations if they are truly committed to end world hunger. So far it doesn’t seemed to be the top priority on their list.
It seems as if the international community, led and controlled by the west, in form of IMF and the World Bank, don’t seem to be wanting an end of hunger in developing nations. It seems as if they wish to see the gap to widen to their own advantage, at the expense of world’s poorest and helpless citizens.
Mian Zahid Hussain, President, Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectual Forum (PBIF) this week raised “concern over widening trade deficit on the back of falling exports and increasing imports,” reported The Nation newspaper. He demanded on the government of Pakistan to “immediately take steps to boost exports and reduce imports otherwise it will have to borrow from international lenders or introduce mini budgets to keep deficit in the limit agreed with the IMF.”
Statement issued by the World Bank on October 3, 2016 outlining economic forecasts for South Asian nations. It states, “"A reality check reveals that private investment – a key future growth driver across South Asia – is yet to be ignited to sustain and further increase economic growth, said Annette Dixon, World Bank South Asia Region’s Vice President. “Countries will need to activate the full potential of private investment and exports to accelerate economic activity further, reduce poverty and boost prosperity.”
Evidently, the political leadership in these countries have gotten their priorities mixed up, or are under extreme pressure by the western dominated IMF and the World Bank to achieve certain economic targets. Thus, the political leadership in these nations are so intoxicated on beating each other on economic fronts, trade agreements, exports of raw material, including food, energy, resources, and amassing weapons, that along the way they have simply forgotten to look after their own people. Yet, when confronted, they claim to be doing all this for the betterment of their citizens. If that’s the truth, then why the conditions of their citizens clearly seemed to be deteriorating with each passing year.
This year, among the South Asian nations, clearly the two Muslim nations, Afghanistan and Pakistan were ranked the lowest, well below, Bangladesh, China, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. As they all ranked above, demonstrating improvements. However, it is still a far cry, from being average.
In the 2016 Global Hunger Index, IFPRI cites Pakistan’s serious lack of commitment to improving health. Hunger in Pakistan “claims more lives than all other diseases combined” reported Pakistani newspaper, Daily Times. “With a score of 33.4, Pakistan was slated as a country with ‘serious’ hunger levels in 2016, despite a significant improvement (20 percent) in world starvation.” It added, “Nearly half of Pakistan’s women and children suffering from malnutrition serves as a grim reminder of the dire state of affairs that does not appear to be improved anytime soon.”
The Financial Express quoted “Bangladesh was ranked 90 among 118 countries, worse than most neighbours,” except India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
All this raises a serious concern about western nation’s commitment to end world hunger, at the same time it raises serious questions about the leaders of these nations who are so focused on meeting economic targets given to them by IMF and the World Bank that nothing else seems to matter.
The only way it seems that we can eliminate the World Hunger rather than citing year after year reports on abysmal failure by developing nation to reduce hunger. A better option would be to reduce export expectations of agriculture products so they can feed their citizens better, ending hunger and malnutrition. A better way for the international community to compel IMF and the World bank to end world hunger would be to attach conditions which would empower citizens in the developing nations to improve an invest in education, healthcare, food distribution, infrastructure. That is what’s needed. A better way to assist developing nation with financial aid specifically targeted to end world hunger, rather than extending loans that are often attached with impossible conditions that hamper progress and eliminate access food from those countries.
At the end the people in the developing nations need to realize that they need to elect leaders who are more concerned about their citizens rather than pleasing their western masters. Until such day, all we can do is hope and pray for those suffering from hunger and malnutrition, and try to assist them individually on our own with whatever limited means we may have at our avail.
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