A United Nations study says an estimated two million Bangladeshi
children are suffering from acute malnutrition because of food
shortages and higher food prices.
The study released Sunday by two U.N. humanitarian agencies (UNICEF and the World Food Program)
says child malnutrition in Bangladesh is a "silent emergency." They
based the assessment on surveys of Bangladeshi children aged six months
to five years old.
The report says 58 percent of Bangladeshi households in the survey
complained of not having enough food in 2008, when natural disasters
devastated food production and caused prices to rise.
The U.N. World Food Program's representative in Bangladesh (John Aylieff) says that even if food prices are now falling, the country's food crisis is far from over.
The study says Bangladeshi households now spend a greater proportion of their income on food compared to three years ago.
Bangladesh has a population of 156 million and is one of the world's poorest countries.