Every eighth person in Bangladesh is undernourished, and a quarter of children under five years of age are stunted.
Despite these challenges, Bangladesh managed to rank 84th out of approximately 127 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI), outperforming two of its subcontinental neighbors—India (ranked 105th) and Pakistan (ranked 109th).
With a GHI score of 19.4, Bangladesh is categorized as having a moderate level of hunger, while both India and Pakistan are categorized as experiencing serious levels of hunger.
The GHI 2024, published jointly by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe, is a flagship global index tracking progress on food security. Although it was released earlier this year, it was formally launched at an event in Dhaka yesterday.
Based on their scores (where lower scores indicate better outcomes), 127 countries were classified into five categories: low hunger, moderate hunger, serious hunger, alarming hunger, and extremely alarming hunger.
The GHI ranks countries using four key indicators: undernourishment, child mortality, child wasting (low weight for height), and child stunting (low height for age).
In this year’s GHI, 51 countries were categorized as having low hunger, 37 countries—including Bangladesh—as having moderate hunger, 36 countries as having serious hunger, and six countries as experiencing alarming levels of hunger.
While Bangladesh’s progress in addressing hunger is evident, its moderate score underscores the ongoing need for comprehensive strategies to combat malnutrition and ensure food security.
According to the report, 11.9% of the population in Bangladesh is undernourished, 23.6% of children under five are stunted (too short for their age), 11.0% of children under five are wasted (low weight for height), and 2.9% of children die before their fifth birthday.
The United Nations defines undernourishment as a condition where individuals are unable to obtain enough food to meet their minimum dietary energy requirements over the course of a year. The UN uses the prevalence of undernourishment as a metric to track progress in ending hunger.
The Dhaka launch event for GHI 2024 was held at a city hotel under the joint aegis of Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe, with the theme "Towards Zero Hunger: Challenges and Way Forward."
Food security not enough, food safety needed
Farida Akhter, an adviser in Bangladesh’s transitional government and a dedicated advocate for safe food, addressed the event as the chief guest.
The adviser in charge of the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry said: “Food security is not enough; we must ensure food safety.”
Farida Akhter suspects a correlation between the widespread use of harmful chemical insecticides and antibiotics in crop production, poultry, and fish feeds, and the increasing number of people being diagnosed with cancer.
“There is no point in simply improving the score on the hunger index if people do not have access to safe food,” she emphasized.
Pankaj Kumar, country director of Welthungerhilfe Bangladesh, said: “Bangladesh has made remarkable strides in reducing hunger, but the 2024 Global Hunger Index reminds us of the critical challenges that remain. With nearly 12% of our population undernourished and over 23% of our children stunted, our fight against hunger must evolve into a collective effort for transformative change.”
Manish Kumar Agrawal, country director of Concern Worldwide, said: “Besides assessing trends and rankings in hunger by country, this year’s GHI report takes a deeper look at the importance of addressing gender inequality in achieving climate resilience and Zero Hunger. Bangladesh has made significant improvements in its GHI scores, even though the hunger level remains moderate.”
Food Ministry Secretary Masudul Hasan; Dr Michal Krejza, head of development cooperation at the delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh; Keya Khan, director general of the Department of Women Affairs; and Mohammad Khaled Hasan, additional secretary of the Cabinet Division, also spoke, among others.
The GHI 2024 reveals that while incremental progress has been made in reducing hunger, the pace is insufficient to meet global commitments, such as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger).
Alarming levels of hunger persist in many regions, exacerbated by the dual threats of climate change and gender inequality.
This year’s GHI report also highlights how gender discrimination limits people’s access to and control over resources, which in turn undermines their ability to cope with climate shocks and food insecurity.
Gender justice is central to effective climate action and food systems transformation.
Achieving gender justice requires change at all scales and levels, from individuals to entire systems, and from formal conditions like legal rights and material resource claims to informal social and cultural norms that often conflict with relationships of respect and dignity.
As the world commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 20th anniversary of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Food, the GHI co-authors call for greater urgency and coherence across policies to address hunger.
Experts from various sectors, including development partners, policymakers, civil society, academia, and development practitioners, participated in the discussion on the findings of the GHI 2024 to chart actionable pathways toward eradicating hunger and malnutrition globally.
Welthungerhilfe, one of the largest non-political and non-religious private aid organizations in Germany, is fighting for the cause of “Zero Hunger by 2030.” Concern Worldwide is an international humanitarian organization dedicated to reducing suffering and working toward the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.