Insecurity of basic needs may increase instability in Pakistan, warns World Economic Forum
Growing insecurity of basic necessities may increase instability in Pakistan, the World Economic Forum (WEF) warned in a report it released on Wednesday.
Cash-strapped Pakistan is struggling to grapple with various economic problems. The country’s reserves have dipped to an eight-year low, below $5 billion as it struggles with soaring inflation and a depreciating currency.
Unprecedented floods last year exacerbated Pakistan’s food crisis, killing over 1,700, damaging critical infrastructure, and destroying millions of homes and large swathes of crops.
According to a Save The Children report in October 2021, more than 3.4 million children in Pakistan face chronic hunger, with an estimated 76,000 children in flood-hit areas experiencing acute food shortages and severe malnutrition.
In its Global Risks Report 2023, the WEF said the impact of insecurity of basic items will continue to be felt most acutely in already vulnerable states. “But may also exacerbate instability in countries facing simultaneous food and debt crises, such as Tunisia, Ghana, Pakistan, Egypt and Lebanon,” it said.
It mentioned how floods in 2022 wiped out an estimated 800,000 hectares of agricultural land in the country, driving up food prices in the South Asian country which is already struggling with an inflation rate of 27 percent.
The international organization warned emerging market banks hold a larger proportion of domestic public debt “with the potential for distress to spread to banks, households and pension funds.”
“Larger emerging markets exhibiting a heightened risk of default include Argentina, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Tunisia, Pakistan and Türkiye,” it added.
The report said water stress is becoming widespread, warning that it particularly impacts women and girls in developing countries that are responsible for water collection. “In the face of spreading humanitarian crises and state instability, water infrastructure continues to be used both as a weapon and target, mirroring past water conflicts and terrorism in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan,” the report said.
The impact of insecurity will continue to be felt in Pakistan and may also exacerbate instability due to simultaneous food and debt crises. Resulting into emergence of a possible more technocracy-based decision-making leadership framework for 2 years”
