The country has maintained a steady progress in tackling hunger as it has improved position in the 2018 Global Hunger Index (GHI).
According to the 2018 GHI, Bangladesh moved by two notches to 88th position among 119 countries.
Bangladesh is ahead of India and Pakistan as these two neighbouring countries have been ranked 103rd and 106th places in 2018 GHI, a tool designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at global, regional, and national levels.
Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe recently published the 2018 GHI that has a special focus on the theme of forced migration and hunger.
In 2017 GHI, Bangladesh’s rank was 86 while the positions of India and Pakistan were 100 and 106, reports BSS.
The 2018 GHI indicates that the level of hunger and under nutrition worldwide falls into the serious category, at a value of 20.9, down from 29.2 in 2000.
As a lower-middle-income country, Bangladesh experienced rapid GDP growth. Country’s poverty rate plunged from 34.8 per cent to 14.8 per cent.
Since 2016, the Bangladeshi economy has faced formidable challenges, including above-average flooding that has been detrimental to agriculture, increasing rice prices and the influx of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, of whom nearly 900,000 are now in Bangladesh.
Because of its densely populated, low-lying coastal landmass, it is also considered one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change and rising sea levels.
Poverty has declined primarily in rural areas, especially for rural households involved mainly in industry or services rather than in agriculture.
Zimbabwe, Somalia, and CAR have the highest rates of under-nourishment, ranging between 46.6 and 61.8 per cent.
Stunting rates are highest in Timor-Leste, Eritrea, and Burundi, with at least half of the children suffering from stunting in each country.
Wasting is most prevalent in Djibouti, India, and South Sudan, but even among these three countries the rates and estimates vary widely, at 16.7 per cent, 21.0 per cent, and 28.6 per cent, respectively.
Finally, the highest under-five mortality rates are in Somalia (13.3 per cent), Chad (12.7 per cent), and CAR (12.4 per cent).
