Nearly 3.7 million cases of acute malnutrition are expected among children aged 6–59 months in Bangladesh between January and December 2026 across 37 disaster prone districts affected by acute malnutrition and food insecurity. This caseload includes close to 711,000 children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and about 2.9 million with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). 

During the current period (January–August 2026), six districts were classified in Phase 4: Habiganj and Maulvibazar in Sylhet Division; Chattogram, Bandarban and Feni in Chattogram Division; and Khulna in Khulna Division. Flash floods, a measles outbreak, inadequate feeding practices, and poor water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) conditions are driving the deterioration. A further 30 districts were classified in Phase 3, while Manikganj was the only district in Phase 2.

During the projection period (September–December 2026), the nutrition situation is expected to deteriorate slightly. Maulvibazar (Sylhet), Bandarban and Feni (Chattogram) will remain in Phase 4 (Critical), while Barguna (Barishal), Cox’s Bazar and Rangamati (Chattogram) will worsen from Phase 3 to Phase 4. Chattogram, Khulna and Habiganj (Sylhet) will improve from Phase 4 to Phase 3, joining 27 districts that will remain in Phase 3. Manikganj (Dhaka) will remain in Phase 2 across both periods.

Response priorities immediate/short-term

Ensure timely identification, treatment, and prevention of acute malnutrition while maintaining essential services during disease outbreaks and climate-related emergencies.

• Expand access to life-saving acute malnutrition treatment services by rapidly piloting/implementing CMAM, ensuring availability of locally produced RUTF and supplementary nutrition supplies, and strengthening referral pathways, particularly in IPC AMN Phase 4 areas and hard-to-reach populations.
• Strengthen community-based screening and early detection of wasting through regular MUAC screening, active case finding, and effective referral mechanisms linking communities with health facilities.
• Ensure continuity of essential nutrition and health services during emergencies through mobile teams, outreach services, emergency response mechanisms, and pre-positioning of supplies in cyclone-, flood-, and landslide-prone areas.
• Reduce the impact of infectious disease outbreaks on nutrition outcomes by strengthening measles vaccination  campaigns, vitamin A supplementation, diarrhoea and ARI surveillance, and integrated management of childhood illnesses, particularly in high-risk and underserved areas.
• Protect infant and young child feeding practices during emergencies through community- and facility-based counselling, breastfeeding support, appropriate complementary feeding promotion, and tailored social and behaviour change interventions.
• Improve access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services in disaster-affected and high-risk areas to reduce exposure to diarrhoeal diseases and other infections contributing to wasting.
• Provide emergency food, specially formulated food (SQ-LNS, MQ-LNS) and cash assistance to vulnerable households affected by flooding, cyclones, disease outbreaks, and livelihood disruption to maintain access to nutritious foods and prevention of child malnutrition.

Response priorities medium/long-term

Address structural drivers of acute malnutrition and strengthen resilience to recurrent climate and health shocks.

• Strengthen integrated prevention and management of wasting within the health system by embedding CMAM services into primary healthcare, adapting national protocols in line with updated WHO recommendations, and improving service quality and coverage.
• Improve maternal, infant, and young child nutrition outcomes by strengthening MIYCN/IYCF programming, including breastfeeding support, timely and adequate complementary feeding, caregiver counselling, and community-based social and behaviour change approaches.
• Improve household access to diverse and nutritious foods through integrated nutrition-sensitive interventions, including livelihood support, climate-resilient agriculture, social protection mechanisms, and targeted assistance for vulnerable households.
• Strengthen primary healthcare capacity and disease prevention systems through improved Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), expanded immunization coverage (including measles, polio, and other priority vaccines), and strengthened surveillance and outbreak preparedness.
• Build climate-resilient nutrition and health service delivery models in cyclone-, flood-, salinity-, and landslide-prone areas, including vulnerable coastal districts, haor areas, hill districts, and urban informal settlements.
• Strengthen WASH systems in high-risk areas by expanding access to safe drinking water, improved sanitation facilities, and hygiene promotion, particularly in communities affected by salinity intrusion, flooding, and inadequate infrastructure.

Specific focus should be maintained on highly vulnerable areas, including climate-exposed coastal upazilas such as Koyra and Dacope (Khulna), cyclone- and flood-prone districts such as Barguna, and disaster-affected hill and refugee-hosting areas such as Bandarban, Rangamati, Chattogram, and Cox’s Bazar, where repeated shocks, limited access to services, and socioeconomic vulnerabilities increase the risk of acute malnutrition deterioration.