reprod 1 | P a g e District Nutrition Profile 1. Larkana District Larkana district was founded about 300 years ago by the Larak tribe on the banks of the Ghaar Wah Canal and comprises four talukas (namely Larkana, Dokri, Rato Dero and Bakrani). The district has a total geographical area of 1,930 square kilometres1. Larkana city is the capital of Larkana district and it shares its borders with the districts of Qambar Shahdadkot, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Khairpur, Naushehro Feroze and Dadu. The geographical position of the district is depicted below in Figure 1: Figure 1: Geographical Map of Dadu District 2. Overall Development Situation in Larkana District According to the Human Development Index (HDI) of 2013, Larkana is an underdeveloped district with a value of 0.40, which is lower than the gross HDI value of Sindh province (0.59). The index reflects a composite statistic used to rank life expectancy, education and per-capita Gross National Income in the area to judge the level of “human development” where Medium Human Development ranges from 0.555 to 0.699 and any score below 0.555 signifies Low Human Development. 1 USAID/IMMAP Pakistan Emergency Situation Analysis – District Larkana, August 2014 Page i 2 | P a g e District Nutrition Profile Larkana District Human Development Index Rankings in Comparison to its Neighbours 0.48 0.45 0.4 0.4 0.42 0.42 0.35 Larkana Jacobabad Shikarpur Khairpur Naushehro Dadu Qambar Feroze Shahdadkot Figure 2: HDI Ranking of Larkana District and its Neighbours 3. Demographics According to a 2016 estimate, Larkana has an estimated population of 1,786,407 individuals (with an annual population growth rate of 3.26%). In 1998, the current area constituting Larkana had a population of 1,002,772. The 1998 census reported the Male-to-Female ratio to be 51.5:48.5 while the EU Programme for Improved Nutrition in Sindh (PINS) survey in the district gave a ratio of 49.4:50.6. Based on the EU profiling exercise for Larkana, the distribution of age groups by percentage of the district population is shown in Table 1. Table 1: Age of the Population in Larkana District Age Group Male (%) Female (%) Total 0-5 10.0% 10.0% 20.0% 6-14 12.2% 11.4% 23.6% 15-18 8.2% 8.8% 17.0% 19-49 14.0% 14.5% 28.5% 50-59 4.1% 4.1% 8.2% 60+ 0.9% 1.8% 2.7% Total 49.4% 50.6% 100. 0% Larkana, like most districts in Sindh, can be characterised as rural as 71% of the population resides in rural areas as compared to the 29% that resides in urban areasi. According to census data, the average household size is 5.9 members but based on the profiling survey, the average household size is 7.4 members. The Sindhi language is spoken by 98% of the total population. Key population and demographic figures for the district are shown in Table 2. 3 | P a g e District Nutrition Profile Table 2: Key Figures for Larkana District Population 1998 1,002,772 Estimated Population 2016 1,786,407 Males 920,000 (51.5%) Females 866,407 (48.5%) Urban 518,058 (29%) Rural 1,268,349 (71%) Sindhi (98.0%) Languages Spoken Others (2.0%) Population Annual Growth 3.26% Rate (1981-1998) Total Households (est. 2016) 302,781 Average Household Size 5.9 persons per household Population Density 926 persons per km2 Total Area 1,930 km2 4. Poverty Status According to the Multidimensional Poverty Report (MPR) of 2014/15, Larkana is among the few districts to have witnessed a steady improvement over the years.2 In 2004/05, 81.3% of the district’s population was living below the poverty line but this fell to 74.7% in 2006/07, 63.8% in 2008/09, 51.1% in 2010/11 and 40.6% in 2012/13. In 2014/15, the district registered a poverty rate of 42%ii. According to the poverty scorecard survey conducted by the Rural Support Programme Network (RSPN) under the Sindh Union Council and Community Economic Strengthening Support (SUCCESS) project, Larkana has a poverty rate of 52.8%. This survey collected and analysed data against various indicatorsiii. 53.6% of households in Larkana do not own any durable goods, 38.2% do not own any productive assets and 79.1% do not own any cultivable land. Across all districts profiled by SUCCESS, 56.2% of the households do not own any durable goods, 35.8% do not own any productive assets and 83.9% do not own any cultivable land3. Approximately 5.3% of the population consists of widows/widowers, 0.1% is divorced and 0.5% is separated4. 5. Economy and Agriculture According to the EU Women, Children and Infants’ Improved Nutrition in Sindh (WINS) Survey, in Larkana district 64.9% of the households had an income of PKR 10,000 or below, 16.9% had an 2 The MPR includes the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) which is based on the Alkire-Foster methodology and has 3 dimensions: education, health and living standards. To tailor the measure to Pakistan’s context and public policy priorities, 15 indicators were used for this national measure instead of the 10 employed for the global measure. Of these 15 indicators, 3 are included under the dimension of education (years of schooling, child school attendance and educational quality), 4 under health (access to health facilities/clinics/Basic Health Units, immunisation, ante-natal care and assisted delivery) and 8 under living standards (water, sanitation, walls, overcrowding, electricity, cooking fuel, assets and a land/livestock indicator specifically for rural areas). All these elements are directly related to nutrition as better education, health and income leads to improved nutrition status within the district. 3 RSPN-Sindh Union Council and Community Economic Strengthening Support (SUCCESS) Programme Page 11 4 RSPN-Sindh Union Council and Community Economic Strengthening Support (SUCCESS) Programme Page 7 4 | P a g e District Nutrition Profile income of PKR 10,001-15,000 and 18.2% had an income of PKR 15,001 or above as can be seen from the pie chart in Figure 3 below. The average monthly income across the surveyed households is PKR 11,171 per household per month. 8.7% 9.5% PKR 10,000 or below PKR 10,001 - 15,000 16.9% PKR 15,001 - 20,000 PKR 20,001 or above 64.9% Figure 3: Household Income In Larkana district 81.9% of the households had a monthly expenditure of PKR 10,000 or below, 10.6% had a monthly expenditure of PKR 10,001-15,000 and the remainder had an expenditure of PKR 15,001 or above as can be seen from the pie chart in Figure 4 below. On average, household expenditure is PKR 8,001 per household per month in Larkana. Food constitutes by far the most important item of household expenditure followed by health. Almost 4.9% of the households are making regular payments with regard to debt (the amount of debt being below PKR 10,000 in 100% of cases). 4.1% 3.4% 10.6% PKR 10,000 or below PKR 10,001 - 15,000 PKR 15,001 - 20,000 PKR 20,001 or above 81.9% Figure 4: Household Expenditure In 82.3% of households in Larkana, there is only one earner while 14.8% of households have two earners. Of all the households in Larkana, 53.6% are earning below PKR 10,000 per month and 37.6% 5 | P a g e District Nutrition Profile are earning between PKR 10,000 and 20,000 per month. Table 3 shows the percentage of all households in each income bracket by number of earners. Table 3: % of Households in Each Income Bracket by Number of Earners, Larkana District Number of Earners Income (PKR) Total 1 2 3 4 5 or more < 10,000 47.0 6.0 0.3 - 0.3 53.6 10,000 – 20,000 29.4 6.2 1.5 0.5 - 37.6 20,001 – 30,000 4.4 1.3 - - - 5.7 30,001 – 40,000 0.5 1.0 - 0.3 - 1.8 40,001 – 50,000 - 0.3 - - - 0.3 > 50,000 1.0 - - - - 1.0 % of all households 82.3 14.8 1.8 0.8 0.3 100.0 Data Source: CARDNO PINS Survey 2017 Paid unskilled non-agricultural labour (47.3%), paid skilled agricultural labour (7.3%), paid skilled non-agricultural labour (6%) and small business/self-employed (4.2%) are the main sources of income as shown in the pie chart in Figure 5 below. 0.3% Smallholder farmer 0.8% 3.5% 8.3% 5.5% Livestock producer 7.3% Skilled agricultural worker Unskilled agricultural worker 6.8% 9.6% Skilled wage labour (Non agriculture) 0.4% 6.0% Unskilled wage labour (Non agriculture) 4.2% Small business (Self Employeed) Forestry Worker Government employee Other salaried employee 47.3% Remittences from relatives Other Figure 5: Sources of Household Income The rainy season in Larkana district lasts from June/July to September and the cropping calendar is divided into two seasons: the Rabi and the Kharif. Larkana is one of the main guava-producing areas in the country while wheat is the predominant Rabi-season crop. Men and women have distinct productive activities and responsibilities in agriculture, with both men and women actively involved on the family farm although women are considered to play a more supportive role in agricultural work.