Great strides in the hunger index – bdnews24.com

According to the ‘World Hunger Index’ released by the International Food Policy Research Institute on Friday, Bangladesh ranks 65th out of 108 countries.

Last year, Bangladesh ranked seventh out of 116 countries in this index. In the previous three years, Bangladesh ranked sixth, eighth, and ninth, respectively.

Not only progress in the index position, but also in the four criteria by which the Global Hunger Index (GHI) is judged, Bangladesh has made progress compared to last time.

The GHI is created by judging the situation in each country on the basis of the malnutrition rate, low weight in children under 5 years old, low weight in children under 5 years old, infant mortality rate under these 5 criteria.

The score for each country is calculated on the basis of 100 points. The best score on the index is zero. If the score increases, it should be understood that the situation in that country is worsening in the state of hunger. And a low score means that the food and nutrition situation in that country is improving.

According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, Bangladesh has improved a lot in terms of scores in the last year. The total score has been reduced to 20.4 from 25.8 last time.

And as a result, Bangladesh’s position in the overall index has increased by 13 steps.

GHI: Bangladesh Score

According to the definition of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, when the daily nutritional intake of a child is less than 1,600 kcal, it is defined as hunger.

The Hunger Index says that 13 percent of Bangladesh’s total population is undernourished; Children under the age of five weigh less than 9.8 percent of their height; Of these children, 28% are underweight and 3% are under the age of five.

Last year, the rates in these four cases were 14.6 percent, 14.4 percent, 36.2 percent, and 3.2 percent, respectively.

Bangladesh has been ahead of neighboring India, Pakistan and Afghanistan in this index for the past few years. However, it is still behind Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Like last time, Sri Lanka is in the best position among the South Asian countries in the hunger index. And the most backward of the seven countries is war-torn Afghanistan. With the exception of Myanmar, the situation in all countries in the region has improved.

GHI: The situation in South Asia

According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, South Asian countries have made significant progress in the fight against hunger in the past year, but seven countries are in the top 40 in Qatar, where hunger remains a problem. ” serious”.

Furthermore, according to official data, the 2020 index has not been affected by the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.

Hasina Rahman, Deputy Country Director for Concern Worldwide, said: “We are concerned that the poverty rate in Bangladesh may double this year due to the Kovid-19 epidemic. Furthermore, the health, economic and climate hazards that have come together this year have put Bangladesh’s food and nutrition security at considerable risk. ”

Therefore, to eradicate hunger by 2030 according to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in this difficult situation, everyone must change the entire food system on the basis of justice, in a healthy and environmentally friendly way. ambient.