Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Department of Global Health, Research School of Population Health, College of Health & Medicine, Acton, ACT, Australia.
PLoS One. 2023 Jan 6;18(1):e0280157. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280157. eCollection 2023.
Food insecurity has multiple negative effects on maternal and child health and nutritional outcomes. There is a dearth of up-to-date evidence on the prevalence of food insecurity in Bangladesh based on geographical variations. We investigated the prevalence of food insecurity based on geographical variations and its associated factors. We pooled data from seven cross-sectional surveys conducted in 15,009 households from March 2015 to May 2018. This study was a part of the evaluation of the Maternal Infant Young Child Nutrition Phase 2 programme implemented by BRAC, one of the largest international non-governmental organizations located in Bangladesh that covered rural areas in 26 districts and two urban slums in Dhaka, Bangladesh. We used Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (a widely used scale to measure household food insecurity) to estimate the food insecurity status from the data collected through a face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire. Hot spot analysis was conducted using the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic. The multiple logistic regression model was applied to explore the associated factors of food insecurity. The food insecurity hotspots were in the northwestern, central-southwestern, and coastal districts of Bangladesh. The overall prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe food insecurity were 12.7%, 13.8%, and 3.5%, respectively. In the adjusted model, household heads and caregivers of children with five or more years of schooling had respectively 42% (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 0.58, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.52, 0.64) and 46% (AOR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.49, 0.61) less likelihood to suffer from food insecurity. Households in the middle (AOR: 0.58, 95% CI: 0.52, 0.65) and rich (AOR: 0.32, 95% CI: 0.28, 0.36) wealth status had lower odds of food insecurity. Food insecurity is widely spread in rural districts of Bangladesh and the degree of vulnerability is higher among the households of the northwestern, central-southwestern, and coastal areas of Bangladesh. Comprehensive interventions including strategies for poverty reduction and education for all might be effective to reduce food insecurity at rural households in Bangladesh.
粮食不安全对母婴健康和营养结果有多种负面影响。基于地理差异，孟加拉国目前缺乏关于粮食不安全流行率的最新证据。我们调查了基于地理差异的粮食不安全流行率及其相关因素。我们汇总了 2015 年 3 月至 2018 年 5 月期间在 15009 户家庭进行的 7 项横断面调查的数据。这项研究是对孟加拉国最大的国际非政府组织之一 BRAC 实施的母婴幼儿营养第二期方案进行的评估的一部分，该方案覆盖了孟加拉国 26 个区的农村地区和达卡的两个城市贫民窟。我们使用家庭粮食不安全获取量表（一种广泛用于衡量家庭粮食不安全状况的量表），通过使用结构化问卷进行面对面访谈来估计从数据中得出的粮食不安全状况。热点分析采用 Getis-Ord Gi*统计量进行。多因素逻辑回归模型用于探索粮食不安全的相关因素。粮食不安全热点位于孟加拉国的西北部、中西南部和沿海地区。轻度、中度和重度粮食不安全的总体流行率分别为 12.7%、13.8%和 3.5%。在调整后的模型中，家中户主和有 5 年以上受教育程度的儿童的照顾者分别有 42%（调整后的优势比（AOR）：0.58，95%置信区间（CI）：0.52，0.64）和 46%（AOR：0.54；95%CI：0.49，0.61）不太可能遭受粮食不安全。中等（AOR：0.58，95%CI：0.52，0.65）和富裕（AOR：0.32，95%CI：0.28，0.36）财富状况的家庭粮食不安全的可能性较低。粮食不安全在孟加拉国农村地区广泛存在，西北部、中西南部和沿海地区的家庭脆弱性更高。包括减贫战略和全民教育在内的综合干预措施可能有助于减少孟加拉国农村家庭的粮食不安全。
