The face of hunger in Bangladesh may no longer be as visibly stark as it once was. But a deeper crisis is gradually taking root within society—a crisis in which people may have access to food, but the real question is how nutritious and healthy that food actually is. The latest United Nations report appears to have lifted the veil on this largely invisible crisis. According to The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026, jointly published by five United Nations agencies, 38.6 percent of Bangladesh's population could not afford a healthy diet in 2025. In absolute terms, that represents approximately 67.8 million people. In other words, nearly two out of every five Bangladeshis live in a reality where they may have enough food to fill their stomachs, but cannot regularly afford the kind of food needed to ensure adequate nutrition. The picture across South Asia is hardly reassuring. In Pakistan, 63 percent of the population could not afford a healthy diet. Although Bangladesh is in a better position than Pakistan, its situation remains concerning in the regional context. Particularly in a country where poverty has declined, food production has increased and average incomes have risen over the past several decades, the inability of tens of millions of people to afford healthy food is a significant indicator of inequality embedded within the economy. There Is Food, But There Is No Nutrition—What Kind of Development Is This? According to the United Nations, the average daily cost of a healthy diet for one person in Bangladesh increased from $3.09 in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms in 2017 to $4.59 in 2025. In other words, the cost of maintaining a healthy diet has increased significantly over the past eight years. A healthy diet includes much more than rice or other carbohydrate-based foods. It encompasses essential animal-source proteins, fish and meat, milk and dairy products, vegetables, fruits, pulses, nuts and seeds, among other food groups. The reality is that for low-income and lower-middle-income families, a large portion of monthly earnings is spent on rice, lentils, cooking oil and other essential commodities. As a result, regularly purchasing fish, meat, milk, fruits and sufficient vegetables has become almost a luxury for many households. This is where Bangladesh faces a new challenge in food security. Once, the question was whether people had enough food in their homes. Now the question is far deeper: Is the food people eat nutritious enough to keep them healthy? The report, however, also contains a positive development. In 2017, 62.8 percent of Bangladesh's population could not afford a healthy diet. By 2025, that figure had fallen to 38.6 percent. This indicates significant progress. Yet the reality that healthy food remains financially out of reach for nearly 67.8 million people demands a fresh assessment of the country's development achievements. This Crisis Is Not Just Economic—It Is Political Too The inability to afford healthy food can no longer be treated as merely a subject for nutrition experts. It is directly connected to political economy. Food prices, household incomes, market structures, agricultural policies, imports and exports, subsidies, social safety nets and inflation are all closely linked to this issue. When food prices and the cost of essential commodities rise faster than household incomes, families are often forced to remove relatively expensive nutritious foods from their diets first. Fish and meat consumption declines, fruit disappears from shopping lists, milk consumption falls and dietary diversity becomes increasingly limited. The immediate political impact of this may not always be visible, but over the long term, it affects children's physical and cognitive development, productivity, healthcare expenditure and the overall development of human capital. As a result, the transition from 'food security' to 'nutrition security' could become an important political issue in Bangladesh's future. This could be particularly significant if the country's middle-class and lower-middle-class families increasingly feel that their incomes are rising but their standard of living is not improving. Such a situation can naturally generate political consequences. The government's ability to control market prices, ensure fair prices for farmers, curb the influence of syndicates and middlemen, and protect the purchasing power of ordinary citizens could become increasingly linked to its popularity and political legitimacy. 'Inflation' Will No Longer Be Just an Economic Term Inflation has always been an important issue in Bangladesh's politics. But the rising cost of healthy food could add a deeper dimension to the debate. If a person can afford only rice and lentils but cannot afford nutritious food, then viewing the problem simply as inflation fails to capture the full extent of the crisis. The political question, therefore, will be this: Will the state merely ensure that people have enough food to fill their stomachs, or will it also guarantee their right to live healthy lives? Answering this question will require the government not only to increase food production but also to address structural weaknesses in the market system. Strengthening food supply chains, reducing production and transportation costs, improving storage and processing capacity, enhancing the flow of market information and reducing food waste—as recommended by the United Nations—are no longer merely matters of economic policy. They are also issues of political commitment. Will the Price of Food Become a Major Issue in the Next Election? As Bangladesh moves closer to its next election, the rising cost of living could become an increasingly important political issue for ordinary citizens. Alongside electricity, energy and employment, the prices of fish, meat, eggs, milk, vegetables and fruits could also influence voters' decisions. Political slogans cannot eliminate hunger or malnutrition. What ultimately shapes people's trust in the state and the government is their everyday experience: Can a family afford milk for its children? Can a mother regularly eat fruit? Are family members getting enough protein? The figure of 67.8 million Bangladeshis who cannot afford a healthy diet is therefore much more than a statistic. It represents a silent political reality that demands immediate attention. Because people's plates often change before their votes do. And if nutrition gradually disappears from those plates, its consequences may eventually be heard at the ballot box. Bangladesh's challenge now is not simply to increase food production. The country must build an economic and political system in which people can afford not merely enough food to survive, but enough nutritious food to live healthy lives. That will be the next great test of development—and, at the same time, a defining test for politics.

Author: Dr. Abul Hasnat Milton, Editor-in-Chief, The Source News Bangla