Poor state of healthy food intake: Reduce income disparity

The overall dismal condition of the food situation in the country is evident in the report on global food security and nutrition by five international organisations including Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Around 73 per cent of the population does not have the capacity to buy healthy food in the country.

The four other organisations are International Fund for Agricultural Development, Unicef, World Food Programme (WFP) and World Health Organisation. Bhutan and Sri Lanka topped the South Asian countries in terms of providing healthy food followed by India and Bangladesh. Nepal is the worst on the list while Pakistan follows Bangladesh.

Bangladesh’s food production increased significantly in 51 years after independence. We also have progressed in producing fish, vegetables, fruit, milk, egg, cattle and poultry. Yet people are unable to avail healthy food due to income disparity. Poverty in Bangladesh is decreasing in a sluggish manner despite there being Bangladeshis among the fastest rich in the world.

On the other hand, the disparity between the rich and the poor is increasing. According to the mentioned report, a person in Bangladesh needs to spends about Tk 276 per day for healthy or nutritious food. But three out of four people cannot afford to buy this food.

During 2014-16FY, 50.4 million people were faced with severe to moderate food insecurity. Three years later in 2019-21, 52.3 million people were similarly food insecure. That is, 32 per cent of the total population of the country was in food insecurity. According to this, 68 per cent of people are food secure. But a significant portion of them do not or cannot eat healthy food. On average, an adult healthy, normal person needs 2100 kcal per day.

It does not matter which country we are ahead of, and which country we are behind. What is more important than that is whether 100 per cent of the people of Bangladesh are getting nutritious food or not. The simple answer is, no. A country's food self-sufficiency does not mean that all people in that country are getting healthy food. Let alone from balanced food, Bangladesh has not yet ensured food security for every citizen.

Under the social security programme, the government provides food assistance to the very poor, which is less than required. Again, food aid means not only rice, but also other nutritious foods. Government has been providing mid-day meal at the school level to solve nutritional problems of children. It is a very good initiative. At the same time separate food assistance programme should be taken for women. According to another report on the nutritional status of women, 37 per cent of women suffered from nutritional problems in 2019. The situation does not seem to have changed in the last two years.

But food aid is not a permanent solution either. Every citizen should be able to afford the necessary nutritious food. The income of the majority of the working people of the country is less than the Tk 276 required for a nutritious meal a day. If we really want to build a healthy nation, we need to increase the income of the citizens and also reduce the social inequality.