- 02/02/2026
Pakistan faces intertwined climate and malnutrition challenges, with floods, droughts, and rising temperatures threatening food security amid high child stunting (40.2%) and wasting (17.7%). Climate change is worsening nutrition outcomes, especially for women, children, and smallholder farmers, while climate and nutrition policies remain fragmented. GAIN’s I-CAN initiative aims to assess and strengthen the integration of climate and nutrition across Pakistan’s policies and strategies.
- 02/02/2026
Pakistan faces a dual crisis of climate change and malnutrition, with floods, droughts, and other climate shocks driving some of the world’s highest rates of child stunting (over 40%) and wasting (around 18%). Most climate and nutrition policies operate in silos, offering limited integrated action, while regions like Sindh and Balochistan face the greatest vulnerabilities. Integrating nutrition into climate adaptation—such as promoting climate-resilient, nutrient-rich crops—can deliver “win-win” outcomes, but urgent, coordinated action from policymakers, donors, and civil society is needed to protect the most at-risk populations.
- 22/10/2025
As Pakistan advances its URAAN Plan and National Food Systems Transformation Pathway, meaningful youth engagement will determine how inclusive that progress becomes. Despite strong national frameworks and growing youth-led innovation, young people remain largely outside formal decision-making. This policy brief sets out practical actions to institutionalise youth participation across governance structures—embedding the Scaling Up Nutrition Youth Network (SYN) within national and provincial coordination bodies, assigning youth advisory roles and quotas, and establishing a Youth in Food Systems Working Group to align mandates and financing. It further calls for building leadership pipelines through a Youth Food Policy Fellowship, integrating national programmes like Kamyab Jawan with food system priorities, and introducing digital accountability tools such as a Youth Engagement Scorecard. By embedding youth as architects of transformation, Pakistan can turn its demographic strength into a lasting engine for innovation, accountability, and resilient food systems.
- 19/06/2025
THE OPPORTUNITY In Pakistan, where wheat is a daily staple, an invisible crisis is unfolding. Over 60 million people suffer from inadequate zinc intake, contributing to malnutrition and economic losses of nearly 3% of the country’s GDP. Zinc deficien cy plays a critical role in stunted growth among children, leading to impaired cognitive development that hampers learning abilities and future economic opportunities.
- 16/05/2025
WHA Global Nutrition Stunting Target 2012-2025
Achieve a 40% reduction in the number of children under-5 who are stunted
WHA Global Nutrition Overweight Target 2012-2025
Ensure that there is no increase in childhood overweight
- 04/09/2024
Pakistan’s many small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including the large number
involved in (nutritious) food supply, are held back by lack of access to adequate finance. Actions could be taken by government, private banks, and other finance providers to help resolve this critical capacity constraint.
- 04/09/2024
In the context of the latest national SME policy “2021 SME Policy Pakistan”, and findings from a recent in-country survey executed by Entrepreneurship Development and Advisory Services (EDAS) and supported by GAIN, this brief, focuses on constraints in the market from supply- and demand perspectives facing SMEs. Its two sister briefs have been prepared using the most up-to-date research (conducted over the last 5 years) on ongoing issues faced by Pakistani SMEs, particularly food-related SMEs, to develop policy recommendations.
- 04/09/2024
In the context of the latest national SME policy “2021 SME Policy Pakistan”, this brief, focusing on the external macro policy and regulatory environment affecting SMEs, and its two related briefs have been prepared using the most up-to-date research (conducted over the last 5 years) on ongoing issues faced by Pakistani SMEs, particularly food-related SMEs, to develop policy recommendations.
- 07/03/2024
The ‘Pakistan Food Systems Dashboard’ is an initiative that bridges this gap through credible national, city, and district data across a range of key food systems indicators.
- 19/10/2022
Food fortification is a safe and cost-effective strategy for improving diets and preventing or correcting micronutrient deficiencies. But industries delivering fortified foods are subjected to very high (around 60%) rates of import duties and taxes in Pakistan.
