THE latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report, released on October 29, offers a paradoxical picture of food security landscape. The number of people facing acute food insecurity has fallen from 23.5 million in 2024 to 16 million in 2025. The figures reflect a systemic neglect and fragile governance. In a country of 165 million, nearly one in 10 citizens is still struggling with the need for need. A larger number of people also face moderate food insecurity. Such an alarming situation underscores a deeper structural malaise that persists despite decades of economic growth and policy intervention. The report attributes much of the distress to climatic shocks, economic instability, inflation and market volatility. The factors have combined to erode purchasing power and deepen inequality, especially among rural and coastal people dependent on farming and fisheries. But while the external shocks are real, they are not new. The government鈥檚 persistent failure to build resilient systems of social protection, market regulation and local governance has turned every disaster into a recurring crisis.
The report says that food insecurity is most evident in Cox鈥檚 Bazar, where 30 per cent of the host community and 40 per cent of the Rohingyas face high levels of acute food insecurity. Other high-risk districts include Sunamganj, Barguna, Bandarban, Noakhali and Satkhira, where one in four people face similar conditions. Equally alarming is the growing nutrition crisis. The analysis for Bangladesh shows that 1.6 million children suffer from acute malnutrition, including 144,000 with life-threatening conditions. Another 117,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are also likely to face acute malnutrition. They are indicators of moral and political failure of a nation that has pledged to achieve food and nutrition security under its own development goals and the UN鈥檚 Sustainable Development Agenda. Government officials point to large-scale food assistance programmes, now reaching 5.5 million families, as evidence of progress. But relief, though essential, is not a substitute for reform. Without investment in sustainable agriculture, climate adaptation, equitable markets and waste reduction, the country will continue to fail a large part of its population.
The report recommends the expansion of social safety nets, strengthening of emergency support for farmers and livestock keepers and restoration of livelihoods in flood-affected regions. The authorities should, therefore, implement the recommendations. Hunger today is not merely an economic but also a governance problem. Until policymakers confront that reality, the growth narrative will continue to ring hollow against empty plates of millions.
