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Since 1971, Bangladesh
has been making considerable progress to achieve food security, in particular
through an impressive increase in food production. However, undernourishment has
remained widespread, especially among women and children. Despite reduction in
the prevalence of undernourishment from 35% in 1990/92
(The State of Food Insecurity in the
World, FAO, 2006) to 30% in 2002/04, 44
million were undernourished in 2002/2004, 4.8 million more than in 1990/92.
Thus, with business as usual, the
Millennium
Development Goal 1 of bringing the
proportion of undernourished in Bangladesh down
to 17.5% by 2015 will not be met, even less so the World Food Summit Target of halving
the number of undernourished.
Chronic hunger is a result and a key manifestation of abject
poverty, but hunger is also a major cause of poverty. As the
Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper recognizes,
'food security is a
core element in the struggle against poverty'. This highlights the
need for a comprehensive food security policy, integrating availability, access
and nutrition.
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