This year’s Global Hunger Index shows that Bangladesh has climbed up ten spots, placing us at the 58th position in the world.
This is, by any standard, a substantial improvement in our standings, and is something that all stakeholders who have had a hand, notably the government and NGOs working on the issue, deserve praise for.
It was not so very long ago that we had a famine in this country, and people dying of starvation was a commonplace occurrence during the lean season. Thankfully, those days are long gone, and this is one thing that we should be proud of as a nation. In today’s Bangladesh no one starves to death, and this is something to celebrate.
Now the battle is to overcome hunger, and there is still much work to be done. But the indications are that this is a war that we are winning.
Over the years, we have made great agricultural strides, and increased our food production. And by doing so, we have ensured that people get enough to eat. At the same time, we have increased people’s purchasing power, which ensures that they have enough money to buy the food they need.
We still have a long way to go, but we should take the time to acknowledge the good work of the generations of Bangladeshis who have toiled tirelessly to make hunger a thing of the past. What we need to do now is intensify our efforts so that we continue to see progress in achieving our aim of eradicating hunger altogether.
