Shawdesh Desk:

Bangladesh is ahead of Pakistan and India on the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021 with a score of 19.1 jointly prepared by Irish aid agency Concern Worldwide and German organisation Welt Hunger Hilfe.

Bangladesh achieved a moderate level of hunger with a GHI score of 19.1 in 2021. However, the country notched down one point from its hunger position of the previous year.

In the 2021 Global Hunger Index, Bangladesh ranked 76th among 116 countries while its GHI position in 2020 was 75th among 107 countries with a score of 20.4.

Two neighbouring countries — Pakistan and India — lag behind Bangladesh with 92nd and 101st position respectively in serious category.

Nepal, another neighboring country, has ranked 76th in moderate category in the index.

Eighteen countries, including China, Brazil and Kuwait, shared top position with less than 5 GHI score, the website of the Global Hunger Index that tracks hunger and malnutrition said on Thursday.

The Global Hunger Index is a peer-reviewed annual report, designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels. The GHI score incorporates four component indicators: undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting, and child mortality.

The indicators included in the GHI formula reflect caloric deficiencies as well as poor nutrition.

The undernourishment indicator captures the nutrition situation of the population as a whole, while the indicators specific to children reflect the nutrition status within a particularly vulnerable subset of the population for whom a lack of dietary energy, protein, and micronutrients (essential vitamins and minerals) leads to a high risk of illness, poor physical and cognitive development, and death.

The inclusion of both child wasting and child stunting allows the GHI to document both acute and chronic undernutrition. By combining multiple indicators, the index reduces the effects of random measurement errors

Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque on Friday said the rising trend of food production in the country has continued even during the coronavirus pandemic.

“In the 2020-21 fiscal, Boro production was more than 20 million tonnes, which is the highest in the country’s history. Production of all crops has increased this year compared to the previous year,” he added.

Bangladesh has done wonder in increasing rice production. In 1971, the country produced 10.59 million tonnes of rice, and it reached 37.4 million tonnes in 2020 as per an official figure.

In 2020, maize production in Bangladesh was 4.7 million tonnes while it was 1.9 million tonnes 10 years ago.

In 2019, vegetables production in Bangladesh was 6.3 million tones while it was 1.15 million tonnes in 1970.

Bangladesh has also achieved self-sufficiency in fish production for the first time in 2018. It has ranked third in the world in terms of inland fish production in the year, according to a FAO report.