Food security before Covid and now

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Bangladesh has made significant strides in several socioeconomic development indicators over the last 30 years. However, the Covid pandemic, as in the rest of the world, has caused disruptions in the country's development trajectory. The recently completed Sanem-GDI Household Survey 2023 produced some important insights. The national upper poverty rate fell from 21.6 percent in 2018 to 20.7 percent in 2023, primarily driven by the fall in rural poverty from 24.5 percent to 21.6 percent. However, urban poverty rate rose from 16.3 percent to 18.7 percent. The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) headcount poverty rate fell from 25.8 percent in 2018 to 24.7 percent in 2023, with rural MPI poverty rate falling from 30.4 percent to 27.6 percent, but increasing in urban areas from 16.8 percent to 18 percent. Rising urban poverty and food insecurity call for widening social security programs and expanding open market sales (OMS) or food-friendly programs. The prolonged closure of educational institutions during the Covid pandemic contributed to a great level of learning loss, with only 33 percent of urban and 21 percent of rural households having access to online education/distance learning. After schools reopened, 15 percent of school-aged children were not attending schools in 2023, with the rate increasing among the lowest-income households. Food insecurity worsened between April and October/November 2023, with nearly 22 percent of all households being moderately food-insecure and three percent being severely food-insecure. Poor households experienced more severe food insecurity than non-poor households, and urban areas had more severe food insecurity than rural areas. Urgent policy directives are needed to address rising urban poverty and food insecurity, including widening social security programs, expanding open market sales (OMS) or food-friendly programs, and addressing concerns of increased dropout rates and learning loss among children. The government should explore options for reducing inflationary prices, including liberalizing import tariffs for essential food products temporarily.

#FoodSecurity #Poverty #Inequality #Bangladesh