A looming food crisis threatens to engulf 16 million people in Bangladesh’s disaster-prone districts by December, with 1.6 million children at risk of acute malnutrition, according to a joint report by the Ministry of Food’s 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 year’s peaks—when 24% faced shortages versus 17% projected now—the 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 China–Bangladesh Friendship Exhibition Centre, the report classifies crises into five phases: Minimal, Stressed, Crisis, Emergency, and Famine. No area reaches Famine (Phase 5), but Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char’s Rohingya population—over 360,000 people—could slip into Emergency (Phase 4) by year-end.
As economic pressures—job losses, currency depreciation, and aid gaps—intensify, 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: “We do not disagree with the IPC report. The problem exists, and we are implementing programs to reduce insecurity.” He noted 17% of the analysed populations may face shortages from May onward.
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Key drivers include economic stagnation—exacerbated by post-2024 political upheaval, reduced remittances, garment export slumps, and inflation hovering at 10–12%—compounding 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 districts—Barguna, Bhola, Patuakhali, Bandarban, Rangamati, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Jamalpur, Sirajganj, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Sunamganj, and Cox’s Bazar—face the same.
Cox’s 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 Bagerhat’s decline to Crisis.
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Malnutrition Crisis: 1.6 Million Children at Risk
Acute malnutrition affects 1.6 million children (6–59 months) in 18 districts, plus 117,000 pregnant/breastfeeding women. Among the Rohingya, 81,000 children and 5,000 mothers are vulnerable.
UNICEF’s Rana Flowers warned: “A malnourished child cannot study or thrive. Without prioritising nutrition, Bangladesh’s economy will stagnate. Action plans are insufficient—everyone must act.”
FAO’s Dia Sanou urged root-cause targeting; WFP’s 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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