Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Dacca (Agenzia Fides) – Bangladesh is a country that, as officially announced by the Government, is self-sufficient in terms of food production. Yet despite this, it is afflicted by the scourge of the lack of “food security” (defined by the UN as “the certainty of having food to satisfy every day”) and malnutrition, which especially affects children. This means that there are clear political responsibilities and that the Government “is violating the right to subsistence, especially for the most vulnerable groups such as women, children, poor peasants, indigenous minorities.” This is the denouncement exposed to Fides by some Bengali civil society associations, such as the Asian Legal Resource Centre and the Bangladesh Human Rights Hotline, created with support from the Commission for Justice and Peace of the Bishops of Bangladesh.
The organisations noted that farmers and labourers make up 68% of the Bengali population, but many of them are landless and experience serious problems of food insecurity and child malnutrition within their families. Especially in the North of the Country, they only have work in the harvest season, so for at least five months a year they do not have food to live. One of the districts that lacks food security is Gaibandha: here an increase in the price of rice has worsened the problems of malnutrition. According to official estimates, this problem which is rampant throughout the country affects at least two million children under six years.
According to the associations, “the greatest obstacle to the people's food security is corruption.” The local and national Government, when asked about these urgent issues, assured the implementation of social welfare programs that have not yet been realised. For this reason, civil society demands that the Government adopt “a comprehensive approach” to combating malnutrition and related health problems of the people. According to the international ranking on corruption compiled by Transparency International in 2010, Bangladesh is ranked 134 out of 178 countries, certified in the “black band” of the most corrupt countries. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 24/2/2011)
