Humaira , an eight-months pregnant Rohinga woman at an Action Against Hunger clinic for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.

Bangladesh

Much of the population of Bangladesh live in poverty. The country is extremely vulnerable to climate disasters and hosts a large number of refugees from neighbouring countries.

Bangladesh is one of the world’s most populous countries and home to some of the highest rates of undernutrition around the globe.

Millions of children under the age of five are suffering from life-threatening hunger. Poorly developed water resources, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene further undermine the country’s public health. As a low-lying, densely populated country, recurring natural disasters such as cyclones and seasonal floods – made worse by climate change – have a devastating impact here.

Bangladesh has also faced significant challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic. Restricted access to health and nutrition services has led to an increase in rates of severe acute malnutrition – the most life-threatening form of hunger – by 14%. Violence against women and children has also increased by almost a third.

Country facts

1,787,047
Action Against Hunger's programmes reached over 1.7 million people in Bangladesh in 2020.
163M
Bangladesh has a population of 163 million people.
30.8%
Over 30% of Bangladeshi children under five suffer from malnutrition.

Action Against Hunger’s work in Bangladesh

We’ve been working in Bangladesh since 2007. Our work focuses on:

treating children under five for life-threatening hunger
improving water, sanitation and hygiene for both Rohingya refugees living in camps and the local community
providing mental health support over the phone for those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic
training mothers on how to screen their children for malnutrition using a mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) band