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Bangladesh

Bangladesh: Food Security Monitoring November 2022 - Remote Household Food Security Survey Brief

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In Brief

The food security situation improved slightly and 17 percent of the households are currently food insecure (moderate to severe). The overall food security situation has improved on average since July.
November survey revealed an increase in food security from 2 percent to 6 percent compared to October. Despite an increasing trend in food security, 17 percent of households reported struggling with meeting food and non-food basic needs.

Disaster greatly impacts food security and varies by income and gender. Food insecurity was above average in two divisions of the country, Khulna and Barishal, situated in the coastal zone. The households were the worst hit by storms and heavy rainfall due to Cyclone Sitrang on 24 October. According to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR) of the Government of Bangladesh (GoB), 10,000 houses and crops of 6,000 hectares had been damaged. Another 1,000 fish enclosures were destroyed.

The low-income households were more vulnerable to food security; the survey revealed that 33 percent struggled to access food and basic needs in moderate to severe situations.

The female-headed households and households with disability were also more prone to food insecurity. Among the households, food insecurity was double in female-headed compared to maleheaded households.

Food price increases continue to be the most significant constant worry across households.

November was not an exception to the previous months. Some 71 percent of households said the rise in food prices was their highest concern. In comparison, 20 percent of households mentioned the second highest concern for the loss of income and health expenditure increase (25% for both).

Reliance on the coping strategy of keeping food on the table remains similar to the previous five months. More than five in ten households applied livelihood-based coping strategies such as borrowing money, selling productive assets, or going into debt to buy food. At the same time, more households reported no coping, around 43 percent in November and 26 percent in July.