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The values of four component indicators -- undernourishment, child mortality, child wasting, and stunting -- are used to calculate GHI scores.

Although Bangladesh has made strides in tackling hunger, the country’s moderate score emphasises the continued need for all-encompassing approaches to fight malnutrition and guarantee food security.

“We cannot satisfy our hunger by bringing food from outside. We must therefore grow our own food,” said Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter, highlighting the importance of food self-sufficiency.

She also stressed ensuring food safety since contaminated food is making people sick, adding, “If the food is unsafe, it is useless to be free from hunger.”

“Bangladesh has made remarkable strides in reducing hunger,” said Pankaj Kumar, country director of Welthungerhilfe Bangladesh.

“However, nearly 12 percent of the population remains undernourished, and over 23 percent of children are stunted. To break the cycle of hunger, we need community-driven solutions, inclusive policies, and climate resilience. We must empower youth and marginalised groups to design and govern food systems, ensuring no one is left behind.”

This year’s GHI report also highlighted how gender discrimination limits people’s access to and control over resources, which in turn limits their ability to cope with climate shocks and food insecurity.

“Besides assessing trends and rankings in hunger by country, this year’s GHI report takes a deeper look at the importance of addressing gender inequality in achieving climate resilience and zero hunger,” said Manish Kumar Agrawal, country director of Concern Worldwide.

Gender justice is central to effective climate action and food systems transformation, he said, adding that achieving gender justice requires change at all scales and levels, ranging from individuals to entire systems, and from formal conditions like legal rights and material resource claims to more informal social and cultural norms that often conflict with relationships of respect and dignity.