The United Nations’ (U.N.) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of objectives designed for all countries to fulfill in order to provide everyone with a more sustainable future. Members of the U.N. General Assembly enacted these 17 SDGs in 2015 to aim to reduce poverty, eradicate widespread hunger, as well as address other global challenges. Assuming all countries follow the plan’s yearly agenda in a timely fashion, all developing countries are expected to enjoy a more prosperous life by 2030.

Since 2015, Bangladesh is one of the many countries that have made remarkable improvements in reducing poverty (SDG 1). For instance, only three years after the implementation of the SDGs, the proportion of the population living below the international poverty line decreased by 8.3% since 2010. In a similar manner, the proportion of the population living below the domestic poverty line decreased by 9.9% from 2010 to 2018. While this is considered an exceptional improvement, much of the Bengali population still suffers from widespread food insecurity. This has been especially apparent since August 2017, where more than 700,000 refugees fled Myanmar, Bangladesh’s neighboring country to the west, due to the violence against the Rohingya population. With that being said, here are five updates on SDG Goal – 2 – achieving zero hunger in Bangladesh.

Updates on SDG Goal 2 in Bangladesh

1. Along with public sector scientists, Bengali farmers have been working alongside one another to create varieties of high-yielding, nutritious foods. This includes rice that has been enriched with vitamin A and potatoes that are resistant to blight. One of the most notable crops Bengali farmers have incorporated into their diets are eggplants, or better known as brinjal in Bangladesh. Historically, farmers applied a massive amount of pesticide since the eggplants often suffered from severe pest infestation. However, ever since the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) studied alternate ways to grow the eggplants without as much pesticide usage, more than 30,000 farmers began to grow and distribute it.

2. Bangladesh’s success in reducing child malnutrition has been the quickest in recorded history. For example, with improved food production and distribution reforms, Bangladesh was able to decrease child stunting rates by 19%.

3. There are still many improvements to be made to achieve zero hunger in Bangladesh by 2030. Looking at the statistics, approximately 36% of Bengali children under the age of 5 still suffer from this condition because of chronic malnutrition. Within this 36%, over half reside in slums and cannot afford food or other necessities. This means that despite the improvements that have been made, a total of 5.5 million children alone still suffer from hunger.

4. According to the World Food Programme, Bangladesh’s progress is not quick enough to fulfill the targets it has set out to defeat domestic hunger. As previously described, stunting is a significant issue within Bangladesh that has been decreased by 19% over 18 years. However, in order to achieve its current targets, stunting rates need to decline at least 5.3% per year if the country is to meet its 2021 goals. Thus, according to the 2014 Global Nutrition Report, assuming Bangladesh continues at its current pace, it will not be able to fulfill the 2025 targets agreed upon at the World Health Assembly in 2012.

5. Around 40 million people or one-quarter of the Bengali population still experience widespread hunger. Of the 40 million, about 11 million suffer from acute hunger.

While it is critical to recognize the success that has been made, it is equally important to acknowledge how a country needs to improve. While there is no denying the drastic improvements Bangladesh has made, the country needs to expand its efforts to fulfill SDG Goal 2.

– Heather Law
Photo: Flickr