Why Bangladesh facing growing NCD crisis?

What is on the plate today could shape the health of Bangladesh tomorrow. As processed and packaged foods become increasingly common, air pollution worsens and unhealthy lifestyles become harder to avoid, the country is seeing a growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

From diabetes and high blood pressure to heart disease, cancer and chronic respiratory illnesses, NCDs are affecting millions of people and increasingly threatening lives before old age. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), NCDs account for 71 percent of all deaths in Bangladesh, claiming an estimated 570,263 lives every year. Nearly 19 percent of these deaths occur prematurely.

So, what is driving this growing health crisis, who is most at risk, and how can Bangladesh respond?
Professor Dr Be-Nazir Ahmed, former director of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), told The New Nationa that the four major NCDs in Bangladesh are cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and diabetes.

He said unhealthy dietary habits, particularly the growing consumption of processed and packaged foods, along with air pollution and tobacco use, are among the major risk factors behind the rise in NCDs.

The scale of the problem is also visible in recent national and international data. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Diabetes Atlas, 11th Edition (2025), an estimated 13.9 million adults aged 20 to 79 in Bangladesh were living with diabetes in 2024, accounting for 13.2 percent of the country’s adult population. The number is projected to rise to 23.1 million by 2050.

What does the latest BBS survey tell us?
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) Health and Morbidity Status Survey 2025, published on 24 May 2026, provides another picture of the country’s growing NCD burden.

The survey identified high blood pressure as the most common NCD among those suffering from chronic diseases. It found that 78.3 percent of people living with NCDs had hypertension, while the condition accounted for 15.8 percent of all reported illnesses.

Peptic ulcer ranked second, affecting 63.8 percent of NCD patients and accounting for 12.8 percent of all reported illnesses. Diabetes ranked third, affecting 43.2 percent of NCD patients and representing 8.7 percent of all reported illnesses.

The survey also found a notable urban-rural gap in diabetes. The condition affected 53.1 percent of urban NCD patients, compared with 33.5 percent of rural patients.

Heart disease affected 31.3 percent of NCD patients and represented 6.3 percent of all reported illnesses.

Asthma affected 30.9 percent of NCD patients, followed by osteoporosis at 22.3 percent. Thyroid disorders affected 6.6 percent, while stroke affected 5.9 percent of NCD patients.

The urban-rural divide was also visible in thyroid disorders, which were nearly twice as common in urban areas, affecting 8.8 percent of urban respondents compared with 4.5 percent of rural respondents.

What is behind the rise?

The growing NCD burden cannot be linked to a single cause. Instead, several lifestyle and environmental factors are contributing to the problem.

Unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco use, harmful alcohol consumption and air pollution can all contribute to metabolic conditions such as high blood pressure, elevated blood glucose, abnormal blood lipid levels and obesity. These conditions, in turn, raise the risk of cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses, reports media.

The concern is particularly growing around ultra-processed foods, which are widely available, affordable and heavily marketed. Many contain high levels of sugar, salt, saturated fat and trans fat, increasing the risk of obesity and NCDs.

The problem extends far beyond Bangladesh. The WHO estimates that around 830 million people worldwide live with diabetes and 1.4 billion adults have hypertension. NCDs claim about 43 million lives globally each year, while unhealthy diets alone contribute to an estimated 11 million deaths annually.

NCDs are not just an old-age problem
NCDs can affect people at every stage of life. Children, adolescents, adults and older people are all exposed to risk factors such as unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco use and air pollution.

The WHO estimates that nearly 18 million people die from NCDs before reaching the age of 70 every year. About 82 percent of these premature deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.

For Bangladesh, this means the NCD crisis is not simply about treating older patients. Preventing exposure to risk factors from an early age could be crucial in reducing premature deaths in the future.