Govt must ensure food security as Bangladesh has been put on the borderline of hunger level

With a score of 19.6 out of the 100 points, Bangladesh is on the borderline of ‘serious’ level of hunger, ranking 84th status out of 121 countries. The serious status starts from 20.0-34.9, while ‘alarming’ level is 35.0-49.9 and extremely alarming level is above 50, said the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2022 report released on Thursday.
The report, jointly published by Irish aid agency Concern Worldwide and German Organization Welt Hunger Hilfe, mentioned that the GHI scores are based on the values of four indicators — undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and child mortality. In the race Sri Lanka and Nepal fared better than Bangladesh securing 64th and 81st spots. However, Bangladesh scored better than Pakistan was 99th, India 107th and Afghanistan 109th. Yemen scored the highest point 45.1 with the rank 121.
This year’s index brings us face to face with a grim reality. The toxic cocktail of conflict, climate change, and the Covid-19 pandemic had already left millions exposed to food price shocks and vulnerable to further crises. Now the war in Ukraine — with its knock-on effects on global supplies of and prices for food, fertilizer, and fuel — is turning a crisis into a catastrophe. As we know Russia and Ukraine account for some 12 per cent of total calories traded in the world. Some 50 nations that rely on Russia and Ukraine for the bulk of their wheat imports, including Bangladesh, have been scrambling to find alternative suppliers.
When the price of food ticks upward, it does not mean simply that people must tighten their belts or pay more for their meals. For those already on the brink of famine, it could literally mean starvation. Food inflation can unsettle markets and even precipitate the overthrow of governments, as it did in Sri Lanka, whose experience serves as a warning to the rest of the world. According to GHI report, 11.4 percent of the population in Bangladesh is undernourished, 9.8 per cent of children under five are wasted, 28 per cent of children under five are stunted and 2.9 per cent of children die before their fifth birthday.
We want the authorities must respect, protect, and fulfil the right to food which should be ensured by law and supported by mechanisms for redressing people’s grievances. Therefore, they must have to come up with both the short and medium-term programmes with a view to ensuring the country’s food security.