About 1 crore 53 lakh people in Bangladesh are currently in acute food insecurity, about 15 percent of the total population analysed. Of them, about 4 lakh 83 thousand people are in an emergency-level food crisis.
The situation may deteriorate further between September and December this year, it is feared. In that period the number of people in acute food insecurity could rise to 1 crore 81 lakh. Of them, about 7 lakh 87 thousand people could fall into an emergency-level food crisis.
The figures come from the latest analysis of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), published jointly by the Ministry of Food, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), Action Against Hunger, Save the Children and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).
The IPC is an internationally recognised framework for analysing and classifying the severity and extent of food insecurity. Its analysis provides governments and development partners with a common evidence base for planning humanitarian assistance and long-term food security programmes.
The findings of the analysis were released and reviewed at a recent high-level workshop in Dhaka led by the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit (FPMU) of the Ministry of Food. Senior government officials, representatives of development and humanitarian agencies, researchers and civil-society representatives took part.
The analysis found that levels of food insecurity are highest in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the haor region, several coastal districts, and among displaced Rohingya living in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char.
At the workshop the state minister for food, Md Abdul Bari, said: “Bangladesh is committed to using evidence-based analysis as the basis of policy and investment in ensuring food security and building people’s resilience. This IPC analysis will help us ensure the effective use of resources and support vulnerable populations facing climate and economic pressures more effectively.”
The food secretary, Abu Taher Md Masud Rana, said: “Data and evidence-based decision-making are extremely important for effective policymaking. I hope the findings of this IPC report will play an important role for policymakers, development partners and humanitarian agencies in taking targeted programmes, strengthening food and nutrition security and building the resilience of vulnerable populations.”
The director general (secretary) of the NGO Affairs Bureau of the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr Mohammad Zakaria, said: “Food security cannot be ensured by any single institution. It requires the coordinated effort of government, society, NGOs, development partners, UN agencies, research institutions and government agencies.”
The report said adverse climate, floods, inflation, rising fuel and food prices, disruptions to global supply chains and overall economic challenges are reducing people’s purchasing power and worsening the food security situation further. Unless effective steps are taken in time, crores of people’s access to adequate and nutritious food will become more limited.
Participants at the workshop recommended expanding emergency food assistance, strengthening shock-responsive social protection programmes, expanding climate-resilient agriculture, supporting the recovery of livelihoods, and strengthening disaster preparedness and early-warning systems.
The FAO representative in Bangladesh, Dr Xiaokun Shi, said: “Increasing the resilience of agriculture and food systems in areas repeatedly damaged by floods, cyclones and climate-related disasters is now extremely urgent. Investment in emergency agriculture strategies, climate-smart agriculture, sustainable livelihoods and local food production will not only address the immediate food crisis but also protect vulnerable populations from future crises.”
The WFP representative and country director in Bangladesh, Koko Ushiyama, said: “The greatest importance of this IPC analysis is that it helps identify the most vulnerable populations before the crisis deepens further. Many of the areas identified in the analysis are currently facing heavy rain and floods, particularly the Chittagong Hill Tracts. There the WFP has taken anticipatory action and is supporting the government’s shock-responsive social protection activities. Alongside emergency response, the IPC also plays an important role in forecasting future crises, delivering assistance more effectively and building the resilience of vulnerable populations.”
At the workshop the Ministry of Food and partner organisations reaffirmed their commitment to continue working jointly to address the immediate food security crisis, build resilience to future disasters and ensure sustainable food security for all.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report