We are elated to learn that Bangladesh has stepped up one point in 2014 Global Hunger Index GHI, showing a significant improvement in hunger levels. According to the GHI released recently by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Bangladesh ranked 57 this year. In 2013 GHI, Bangladesh ranked 58. Reports said the 2014 GHI examined levels of hunger in 120 developing countries and countries in transition and scored them based on the proportion of people who are undernourished, the proportion of children under five who are underweight, and the mortality rate of children under five. Bangladesh has been experiencing broad-based progress in social indicators. All these make us optimistic that we are advancing. Infant and maternal mortality rate in the bygone days was very high, but our pragmatic steps have made us overcoming those hard days. Despite political turmoil and limited resources, Bangladesh has been silently making progress. As regards food production, Bangladesh has made tremendous success. This part of the globe, when it was inhabited by only fifty million people in late fifties, people often died of hunger; they had hardly any clothes to wear, not to speak of fancy dresses. Diseases were rampant, but no treatment. They had to live a sub-human life. This situation continued till the end of the seventies. Things have changed now. With a population of 160 million people within the same area, nobody dies of starvation, people wear beautiful dresses, their children are well educated and having good medicare facilities. I love to be optimistic: I am sure our progress will go unhindered.
Ashraf Ahmed
Sheorapara, Dhaka
World Hunger Index and Bangladesh
FE Team | Published: October 16, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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