With the Covid crisis around the world, Policy and Programme leaders from industry and the government have been urged to act and support those who are affected, particularly employees of the industry who have lost their jobs and the already vulnerable.
With respect to Pakistan, there were 1.27 million confirmed cases with 28,000 deaths by October 2021. The situation has also led to uncertainty in the job market and has jeopardised living conditions with many having nothing to sustain themselves. People are looking for food, shelter, and basic needs. There was a particular urgency of food assistance as Pakistan was already a country with a high burden of food insecurity. People who were laid off from their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic found themselves in a desperate situation. With no employment at hand and no savings, they were unsure if they will be able to bring the next meal home.
Despite this, the government of Pakistan was responsive in terms of assisting the poor and ensuring that the industry was supported when efforts to contain the pandemic caused panic in the supply chain.
During 2020, the government of Pakistan approved the fiscal stimulus package of Rs. 1.2 trillion and Supplementary Grant of Rs. 100 billion for the “Residual/Emergency Relief Fund” in relation to the provision of funds for mitigating the effect of COVID-19 for the impacted population. In addition to this, Rs. 200 billion of cash assistance for the daily wagers working in the formal industrial sector and who had been laid off as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Under the economic recovery plan, the government of Pakistan has announced that PKR 1.2 trillion (approx. $8 billion USD) would be be spent through a multi-sectoral relief package to address the challenges that arose due to the outbreak of Covid-19. Under this recovery plan, PKR 200 billion have been allocated for relief to daily wage workers; PKR 150 billion for cash transfers to low-income families and PKR 100 billion for financial support to support the Agriculture sector and SMEs along with PKR 280 billion for accelerated procurement of wheat.
To translate the aforementioned strategic policies, the government sectors at both national and provincial levels pledged to help people affected by COVID-19 through innovative approaches. National relief efforts such as Ehsaas Program, Punjab Relief Package, Pakistan Pandemic Support, among others, have been initiated to help people in need. These programs are an initiation of the government with an aim to provide relief to people badly affected by COVID-19. It is a consortium of different programs such as dastarkhawans, food vans, ration drives and emergency cash disbursement. Moreover, individual anthropologists and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are also working towards bringing together relief efforts for the most vulnerable. But even with all the government assistance, agencies and relief organisations put together, this will not address the needs of the undernourished children and women badly affected by COVID-19. The condition in our country was devastating, prior to COVID-19 with 20% population being undernourished and 45% children under the age of five having stunted growth. At one end this is a reflection of a longer-term problem and on the other, it highlights the need for a sustainable, robust and cost-effective action for health and resilience.
Large Scale Food Fortification (also known as industrial fortification) has been acknowledged as the most cost-effective intervention which can address this issue. It is an intervention used globally to ensure that micronutrients are provided to large proportions of the population through collaboration with the private sector, which is cost-effective, and requires little to no behaviour change in consumers.
In Pakistan, Food Distribution Networks (FDNs) remain the priority solution in which the Dastarkhawans, the Langars, and workplace canteens provide daily meals. A major part of these meals distributed is “roti”, which is prepared from wheat flour procured from local flour mills. Providing micronutrient fortified wheat four, if ensured with quality and safety, could provide the nutritious, micronutrient-rich and safe foods to the most vulnerable segments of the society, through these already established FDNs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, an outpouring of support in the form of donations to those in need was needed.
A project by GAIN Pakistan in collaboration with GCUF was initiated to ensure quality fortification within FDNs for vulnerable populations during/post COVID-19. The project, which encouraged micronutrient fortified wheat flour be procured and used in the daily meals served, helped ensure that people were not only fed, but were also given nutritious foods. So far, the project has served 6.5 million meals to women and men in need, distributed Ramadan rations to 1000 households, all providing micronutrient-rich food necessary for health.
This project will act as a replicable precedent for other incoming projects. In time, when we are able to see visible changes in the health status of people, National Fortification Alliance (NFA) and other government organisations will be able to grasp the concept of fortification and further these types of projects. Also, it will serve as an example of the benefit of making fortification of staple food mandatory by the government as this will help impact the health status of the country on a very large scale. Some examples of countries who have mandatory staple food fortification regulations include Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam in the Asian region. WHO’s meta-analysis of 16 countries confirm that fortification of staple food can reduce the risk of iron deficiency by 35%. Considering that wheat flour is the staple food in Pakistan and is used to make foods, such as Roti, widely consumed everyday by most of the population. Such projects can be role model for government efforts in the future that can reach the population at scale.
NFA and other regulatory agencies need to scale up fortification projects to cater to more segments of the society. It is important to observe the dietary patterns of the rural areas so it can be determined as to which food needs to be fortified.
Studies conducted by the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at MIT show that providing food security to people allows them to become useful members of the society. It allows at least one aspect of their daily needs to be met. Contrary to the belief that this encourages dependence on such programs, people who receive guaranteed meals can contribute more to the growth of the economy.
