Between October and December 2024, over a quarter of the population analysed (26 percent), representing 23.3 million Bangladeshis and 300,000 Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMN), are projected to experience high levels of acute food insecurity, classified IPC Phase 3 or above, and are in urgent need of humanitarian food security assistance (HFSA). Over 1.6 million people are in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency), most of whom reside in the Chattogram, Rangpur, Khulna, and Sylhet divisions. Of the 40 areas analysed, 33 are classified in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis), indicating a deterioration in food security compared to the IPC projection analysis published in April 2024, where 20 out of 33 areas were in Phase 3.

Since May 2024, Bangladesh has been severely affected by a series of climate-related disasters, including Cyclone Remal in May, flash floods in the Haor Region in June, riverine floods in the Jamuna Basin in July, and unprecedented flooding in the eastern regions in August. The most recent floods in Chattogram coincided with a period of political transition in the country, following student-led protests that resulted in the establishment of a new interim government.

Response priorities

• Provide life-saving humanitarian assistance to mitigate large food consumption gap for the IPC Phase 4 population with conditional and unconditional cash grants complementing food support.
• Provide livelihood support to agricultural households through cash+ interventions to restore production capacities and address decapitalization among IPC Phase 3 populations.
• Address climate shocks, unemployment, and price shocks, through further expanding safety net programmes including public food distribution across IPC Phase 3+.
• Urge the decision makers including government to cover a broader population (including livestock producers and fishermen) under shock-responsive social safety net programmes ensuring they reach only eligible, vulnerable people through appropriate targeting and adherence to humanitarian principles.

Medium to long-term recommendations

• Widen IPC dissemination at the inter-ministerial levels to support the use of IPC analysis for departmental development, response, and recovery plans and targeting, putting a strong focus on vulnerable groups.
• Support for sustainably restoring the livelihoods of the smallholders affected by the floods needs to be prioritized up to the next Rabi/Boro season. Government poultry and fisheries hatcheries should be revitalized as well as access to other inputs should be considered to support the smallholders.
• The Ministry of Food in coordination with the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock needs to ensure the availability of affordable feed for livestock, poultry, and fisheries sub-sector by importing maize and distributing it among small and medium farmers on a cost-recovery basis. 
• Support producers by enhancing market linkages and ensuring receipt of fair prices for agricultural commodities.