The Situation
Bangladesh still faces high poverty and undernutrition rates, aggravated by frequent natural disasters and a high population density. The high prevalence of child marriage and undernutrition in mothers and adolescent girls contributes to the cycle of undernutrition. The prevalence of stunting in children under the age of 5 years continues to pose a major challenge, with about 5.5 million children (36 percent) stunted and a global acute undernutrition rate of 14 percent. Despite considerable progress in school enrollment, an estimated 3.3 million out of 20 million primary school aged children remain out of school.
World Food Programme's Work
WFP has been present in Bangladesh since 1974 and has assisted registered refugees from Myanmar since 1992. WFP aims to achieve significant gains in reducing hunger and undernutrition in the coming years by implementing and developing, through effective partnerships, innovative long-term solutions by responding to emergencies.
WFP aims to assist 3.6 million people in 15 prioritized districts over five years, which is designed to improve the long-term food security of ultra-poor households and the nutritional situation of women and children in the poorest and most food-insecure rural areas and urban slums. It has four components:
- Improving maternal and child nutrition, which aims to break the cycle of undernutrition in Bangladesh by treating and preventing moderate acute malnutrition among pregnant and nursing women and children below five. It does so by providing supplementary feeding accompanied by nutrition behavior change communication.
- School meals, which aim to contribute to the Government’s goal of achieving universal primary education by increasing enrolment and attendance of pre- and primary schoolchildren through distributing fortified biscuits, delivering essential learning packages, and providing technical support.
- Enhancing resilience to natural disasters and the effects of climate change, which aims to enhance the resilience and food security of particularly vulnerable people through the creation of community and household assets. It engages participants in community projects, provides training and gives women a cash grant for investment.
- Strengthening government safety nets, which aims to help the Government enhance social safety nets addressing hunger and household food insecurity by providing technical assistance and implementing a promotional safety net and operational research.
Articles About Bangladesh
A Year of Saving and Changing Lives
A look at what 2018 meant for the World Food Programme (WFP) and the millions of people it serves.
World food programme
The Rohingya Refugee Crisis: One Year Later
More than 900,000 refugees still call Bangladesh home--one year after the majority fled escalating violence in western Myanmar.
Ann Nallo
Back to School Supply: High-Energy Biscuits
Since 2017, school meals have given Rohingya children a critical source of nutrition and a life-changing opportunity to continue their education after fleeing violence.
World Humanitarian Day 2018: Celebrate Heroes
Every year on August 19th, the world pays tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service. Meet five humanitarians with the World Food Programme (WFP) who are…
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Peak Rains in Bangladesh
Halfway through the year, a nonstop effort is underway to protect hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees from the worst of the monsoon season.
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Why Conflict and Hunger Have the World’s Attention
This past May, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution officially recognizing the link between conflict and hunger for the first time. The measure (#2417-2018) calls on parties to…
Ann Nallo
When Refugees Arrive, WFP is There
In Bangladesh, saving lives means making sure that every Rohingya refugee has the food they need to survive.
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Protecting Rohingya Refugees, Come Rain or High Water
World Food Programme (WFP) engineers are in a race against time to create safe land in the world’s largest refugee camp where the most vulnerable will be relocated before the…
World food program usa
Monsoon Season Threatens the Rohingya
The rain has started to fall where nearly 700,000 refugees have sought safety since last August. What happens now?
World food program usa
‘We Can Now Collect Food With Dignity’
Rohingya women share their stories