A looming food crisis threatens to engulf 16 million people in Bangladeshโs disaster-prone districts by December, with 1.6 million children at risk of acute malnutrition, according to a joint report by the Ministry of Foodโs Food Planning and Monitoring Unit (FPMU) and UN agencies FAO, UNICEF, and WFP.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, covering 96.6 million people across 36 districts, including Rohingya camps, warns of worsening conditions from May to December compared to earlier in the year. While overall food insecurity has eased from last yearโs peaksโwhen 24% faced shortages versus 17% projected nowโthe surge in affected populations underscores a fragile recovery hampered by economic downturn, climate shocks, and funding shortfalls.
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Released on Wednesday at the ChinaโBangladesh Friendship Exhibition Centre, the report classifies crises into five phases: Minimal, Stressed, Crisis, Emergency, and Famine. No area reaches Famine (Phase 5), but Coxโs Bazar and Bhasan Charโs Rohingya populationโover 360,000 peopleโcould slip into Emergency (Phase 4) by year-end.
As economic pressuresโjob losses, currency depreciation, and aid gapsโintensify, experts fear the crisis could spiral without urgent, coordinated intervention.
Economic Downturn Fuels Vulnerability
Food Secretary Md Masudul Hasan, the chief guest, acknowledged the findings: โWe do not disagree with the IPC report. The problem exists, and we are implementing programs to reduce insecurity.โ He noted 17% of the analysed populations may face shortages from May onward.
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Key drivers include economic stagnationโexacerbated by post-2024 political upheaval, reduced remittances, garment export slumps, and inflation hovering at 10โ12%โcompounding climate disasters like floods and cyclones. River erosion in the north and salinity in the south have devastated harvests, while inadequate health, sanitation, and dietary diversity deepen malnutrition.
From January to April, 15.5 million in 16 districts were in Crisis (Phase 3). By December, 16 million in 13 districtsโBarguna, Bhola, Patuakhali, Bandarban, Rangamati, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Jamalpur, Sirajganj, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Sunamganj, and Coxโs Bazarโface the same.
Coxโs Bazar is hardest hit: 30% of Ukhiya and Teknaf residents, plus 40% of Rohingya, risk Crisis or Emergency.
Improvements in Noakhali, Habiganj, Moulvibazar, and Sylhet (to Stressed) contrast with Bagerhatโs decline to Crisis.
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Malnutrition Crisis: 1.6 Million Children at Risk
Acute malnutrition affects 1.6 million children (6โ59 months) in 18 districts, plus 117,000 pregnant/breastfeeding women. Among the Rohingya, 81,000 children and 5,000 mothers are vulnerable.
UNICEFโs Rana Flowers warned: โA malnourished child cannot study or thrive. Without prioritising nutrition, Bangladeshโs economy will stagnate. Action plans are insufficientโeveryone must act.โ
FAOโs Dia Sanou urged root-cause targeting; WFPโs Simone Parchment stressed disaster preparedness and social safety nets. Fisheries Secretary Abu Taher Muhammad Jaber highlighted climate-resilient livestock and aquaculture.
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