Bangladesh puts up remarkable show in hunger reduction

Bangladesh has been performing impressively since 2012 in combating hunger riding on the declining trend of undernourishment, child stunting, child mortality and child wasting, according to the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021.

Bangladesh has ranked 76th out of the 116 countries in the 2021 index, released on Thursday, and remained ahead of its neighbours India (101st) and Pakistan (92nd) in reducing hunger. 

This year Bangladesh's hunger level has dropped to "moderate" for the first time as it achieved a GHI score of 19.1 points out of 100. 

Bangladesh had been categorised in the "serious" level of hunger since 2000.

The index is a tool to measure and track hunger developed by NGO Concern Worldwide and German humanitarian aid agency Welthungerhilfe.

The GHI assigns the scores in five severity levels based on data from 2016 to 2020 – low (9.9 or less), moderate (10.0-19.9), serious (20.0-34.9), alarming (35.0-49.9) and extremely alarming (50-100).

Dr Sayema Haque Bidisha, research director at South Asian Network on Economic Modelling and a professor of economics at Dhaka University, said, "Whenever we assess any sort of indices, we must keep in mind that they do not always cover all necessary aspects of an issue."

"We must also note that our country has witnessed substantial economic growth as well as improvements in terms of food security and poverty reduction over the years. So, the positive reflection in this index is true and consistent with the current socio-economic situation," she pointed out.

"But on a positive note, we have to remember that our goals must align with the ones of the SDGs, especially with several factors related to food and nutrition."

"Another aspect that we must look into is the health section of our 8th Five Year Plan. In comparison to those targets along with the SDGs that are closely related to zero hunger, we still have quite a long way to go."

The country must also revisit the post-pandemic situation of indicators such as child undernourishment and child mortality, because a lot has changed within this period, said Dr Sayema.

"We know that child marriage is correlated to early pregnancy, and early pregnancy leads to low mortality rate of the baby. These issues have a long-term effect on hunger, so revisiting is crucial."

She also said there are also areas of improvements that are related to the supply chain. Food prices have inflated owing to the supply chain disruptions during the pandemic, making many people unable to afford sufficient amounts of food.

How Bangladesh improved in four indicators

The index is based on four indicators – proportion of undernourished population, child stunting, child wasting, and child mortality.

While Bangladesh has witnessed a 5.8% decline in the proportion of undernourished population (currently 9.7%) compared to that of 2012, child undernutrition levels have dropped significantly in terms of curbing child stunting – the share of under-five children with low height for their age. 

During the ten-year period from 2012 to 2021, the country reduced child stunting by 12.8 percentage points to 28%. This reflects the rapid improvement of chronic undernutrition in the country, according to the report.

On the other hand, a 5% remarkable reduction in the prevalence of child wasting (now 9.8%) – the share of under-five children with low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition – has been made.

However, the country saw the narrowest reduction in the under-five child mortality rate – which currently stands at 3.1% – suggesting an improvement of only 1.3 percentage points during the ten-year period.

The report highlighted that these improvements are underpinned by the government's firm commitment, determination, and action to tackle malnutrition as part of the country's path toward the developed-country status by 2041. 

Bangladesh ahead of India, Pakistan in reducing hunger

The index includes six South Asian countries where Sri Lanka (65th) tops the ranking, followed by Bangladesh and Nepal, both sharing the 76th position with a score of 19.1 points. 

These three countries are in South Asia to be placed in the "moderate" severity level.

Afghanistan (103rd), India (101st) and Pakistan (92nd) are the bottom three countries in South Asia. These countries' hunger levels are categorised as "serious".

There are 48 countries that have "low" levels of hunger, including Belarus, Brazil and China, while 30 countries, including Thailand, Oman and Malaysia, have "moderate" levels of hunger.

Somalia was the only country found to suffer from an "extremely alarming" level of hunger. Five countries have levels of hunger that are "alarming".  A further 31 countries have "serious" levels of hunger.