The New Nation - Internet Edition

BANGLADESH has been ranked 70th among 88 nations in the global hunger index (GHI) as reported by media recently. From January 2007 to June 2008, one-third of all the countries, for which GHI was calculated, suffered from a violent or non-violent protest, with multiple occurrences in Bangladesh, according to the report prepared by the International Food Policy Research Institute. The report referred to urban dwellers' reactions - strikes, protests or even riots - to the increased inflation of food prices in recent times. Others like Burundi, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Niger and Sierra Leone - standing at the bottom of the list - are too plagued by the painful alarming level of hunger.

Almost 923 million people in the world go hungry every year, 907 million of whom live in developing countries, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation. In the context of higher food prices, as the report says, the prospects for improving food and nutrition security do not appear favourable, given that at least 800 million people - mostly from Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia suffered from food insecurity even before the food price inflation hit the global market.

The hunger index of 2008 reflects data from 2001 to 2006, not the actual hunger situation in 2008, and in view of the price situation the listed countries were unlikely to have achieved drastic improvements in their hunger situation between 2006 and 2008. The Global Hunger Index is a multidimensional approach to measuring hunger and malnutrition, combining indicators such as the proportion of undernourished people, the prevalence of underweight children and the rate of infant mortality. The world has made slow progress in alleviating poverty and reducing food insecurity since 1990, with dramatic differences among regions and countries, the report mentioned.