While the ongoing global conflicts continue to cause a number of severe humanitarian crises, some of which are expected to persist long after the immediate dangers have subsided, perhaps the most pressing of our concerns is that of the rising food insecurity worldwide.
Most countries were already reeling from the debilitating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the world hunger crisis has been exacerbated exponentially due to coinciding world events.
According to the Global Hunger Index reports this year, malnutrition and hunger levels across the globe have worsened, and a number of already afflicted countries are in a dire state.
To that end, that Bangladesh has done a significantly better job of protecting its people from the effects of hunger and food shortage than some of its neighbours is certainly worthy of praise.
Of the 121 countries analyzed, Bangladesh ranked 84th, while our immediate neighbours India and Pakistan took the 107th and 99th positions respectively.
Food security has been given utmost importance by the government in recent years, as a large portion of the population is reliant on our agriculture sector. Additionally, recent initiatives that the government has taken -- providing ration cards to 10 million families, for one -- have all been instrumental in lessening the blow of what could have been an even more disastrous phenomenon for the nation.
The success of the government's proactive efforts is evident in the numbers -- from a score of 19.1 in 2021 to 19.6 this year, a "moderate" level of hunger can still be considered a win for a developing country, especially in the face of a global crisis.
However, the crisis is certainly yet to be averted completely. Relevant authorities must continue to work towards eliminating food insecurity to the best of their abilities, and ensure the health and nourishment of our people moving forward.
We still have a long way to go as a nation, and making concerted efforts to end the hunger crisis should be our top priority.
