RURAL BANGLADESH - PreventionWeb

Socioeconomic Profiles of WFP Operational Areas and Beneficiaries
Finally, as we noted above in observing income trends – see Figure 24 as well as Figure 26 –
perceived poverty trends differ substantially according to the status of household head.
Approximately 86 percent of female-headed households live in poverty; more than half (53
percent) have remained poor and another one-third (34 percent) have descended into selfdescribed
poverty during the last 10 years. In contrast, although 45 percent of male-headed
households remain poor, nearly one-quarter of the others have managed to climb out of
poverty. Female-headed households, as noted throughout this report, face many more
structural, socioeconomic, and cultural barriers to achieving livelihood security than do
male-headed households throughout rural Bangladesh.
6. FOOD CONSUMPTION & FOOD SECURITY
6.1 FOOD CONSUMPTION PATTERNS
Table 50 presents results from the cross-tabulation of weekly consumption of 14 food groups
by household socioeconomic status, specifically indicating the proportion of households
consuming each food group as well as the number of occasions items from each food group
were consumed during a one-week period. The results suggest that diet diversity, as
measured by household consumption of the food groups, increases with household
socioeconomic status:
Table 50: Weekly Consumption of Food Groups by Household Socioeconomic Status
Food Groups
HH Socioeconomic Status
Non
vulnerable 2 3
% of HHs
consumed
Number of
times
(Median)
% of HHs
consumed
84
Number of
times
(Median)
% of HHs
consumed
Number of
times
(Median)
Most
vulnerable
% of HHs
consumed
Staples/ grain 100% 21 100% 21 100% 21 100% 14
Tubers 93.1% 10 89.7% 8 84.2% 7 75.3% 6
Green leafy vegetables 98.4% 7 96.8% 6 94.4% 6 91.6% 6
Other vegetables 74.7% 12 69.2% 8 55.9% 7 57.6% 6
Lentils 94.2% 6 83.8% 4 69.6% 4 53.2% 3
Fruits 90.3% 5 64.8% 3 27.8% 2 19.6% 2
Meat 77.5% 3 40.2% 2 11.7% 1 5.6% 1
Fish 98.2% 7 90.3% 5 80.9% 4 61.2% 4
Egg 81.6% 4 55.5% 2 32.4% 2 16.6% 2
Milk & dairy products 80.7% 7 47.0% 7 21.8% 7 10.7% 2
Oils and fats 100% 20 99.8% 20 99.8% 18 99.5% 14
Sugar 74.5% 7 39.2% 5 10.6% 4 3.8% 3
Beverages 56.0% 7 23.1% 7 8.4% 7 2.7% 7
Spices 99.4% 20 96.8% 20 95.1% 17 92.9% 14
Number of
times
(Median)
♦ Staples, invariably rice but occasionally wheat, are consumed by all households
throughout the WFP priority zones.