Eating healthy is a privilege, not a choice, in Pakistan. The World Bank’s latest poverty line benchmark is set at $3.00 per person per day, entailing that anyone living on less than $3.00 is considered to be living in poverty.

Currently, 44 per cent of Pakistan’s population lives below this threshold, while the cost of a healthy diet stands at $3.95, making it unaffordable for nearly half the population. Adding on to this misfortune, since March 2022, Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation has risen cumulatively by 63 per cent, significantly eroding household purchasing power. Thus, 60 per cent of Pakistan’s population is unable to afford a healthy diet.

But what exactly constitutes a healthy diet? According to Pakistan’s Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (2018), a healthy diet includes starchy staples, meat, pulses, eggs, fats, fruits, vegetables, milk and milk products. However, low income and high prices of staple items across these food groups have made maintaining such a diet unaffordable for many.

As of September 2025, food prices in Pakistan rose by a further 5.0 per cent. This translated into a sharp increase in the price of wheat flour, with the Consumer Price Index........

© The News International