Bangladesh鈥檚 position in the Global Hunger Index 2024 has slipped by three notches particularly reflecting the country鈥檚 lack of progress in reducing undernourishment and child stunting.
Bangladesh has secured 84th position among 127 nations in the GHI 2024 with an overall score of 19.4 based on four indicators鈥攗ndernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and child mortality鈥攚ith data from 2019鈥�2023.
In GHI 2023, Bangladesh stood 81st among 125 countries despite scoring 19, according to a report released on Friday by two European non-governmental organisations鈥擶elthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide.
Referring to the scores over the past five years, economists said that the country鈥檚 performance remained stuck to securing scores somewhere around 19 between 2020 and 2024 from around 25 between 2017 and 2019.
This means low hanging fruits were over for the country, said Mustafa K Mujeri, former director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.
The country needs to take new and effective steps to make a further stride on undernourishment and child stunting, said Mujeri.
In Bangladesh, 11.9 per cent of children are malnourished, and 2.9 per cent of children die before their fifth birthday, according to the report.
Chronic malnutrition has resulted in 23.6 per cent of children under five being stunted, while 11 per cent experience wasting, where weight does not increase in proportion to height, according to the report.
Centre for Policy Dialogue distinguished fellow Mustafizur Rahman said that the undernourishment was acute in many regions for various reasons.
The prevalence of child stunting is also high in those regions, he said, adding that special efforts were imperative to overcome the situation.聽聽
The GHI indicates countries with scores between 10 and 20 are in moderate level of hunger, while countries with scores between 20 and 30 are in serious hunger.聽聽聽
Among the South Asian countries measured in the index, Bangladesh ranks higher than India (105th), Pakistan (109th), and Afghanistan (116th), while Sri Lanka (56th) and Nepal (68th) have performed better.
The report also highlights that hunger remains a critical issue globally, with six countries facing alarming levels of hunger, including Burundi, Chad, Madagascar, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen.
In 36 other countries, hunger is designated as serious, while many nations have seen deterioration in their hunger situation since 2016.