RURAL BANGLADESH - PreventionWeb

Socioeconomic Profiles of WFP Operational Areas and Beneficiaries
Figure 28: Meal Frequency by Sex of Household Head
% of Households
Female-headed households take their meals less frequently than do male-headed households.
More than one-third (35 percent) of female-headed households consume two meals a day,
compared to 18 percent of male-headed counterparts. Meal frequency varies across regions
as well. Approximately one-quarter of Haor and CHT households apparently average two
meals while only 11 percent of Drought-prone households and 14 percent of Coastal
household had two meals in the 24 hours prior to the household interview.
6.2 FOOD SECURITY & FOOD INSECURITY
One of the most widely used and accurate proxy indicators for food security is the number of
months of access to adequate food for all household members. Half of all households appear
to be food secure throughout the year, or at least for 10 to 12 months. Another one-third (31
percent) of households are food secure for seven to nine months and the other 20 percent are
food secure for less than half the year, including 12 percent unable to access adequate food
anytime during the year.
Figure 29: Household Food Security by Socioeconomic Class
% of Households
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
Number of Meals Eaten Per Day
Female M ale
Sex of Household Head
One meal a day 2 meals a day 3 meals a day
Number of Months Access to Adequate Food
Non Vulnerable On-the-edge Vulnerable Invisible Poor
Household Socioeconomic Class
None 1 to 3 months 4 to 6 months 7 to 9 months 10 to 12 months
Figure 29 graphically illustrates the great disparity in household food security by
socioeconomic status. More than half of the invisible poor suffer from food insecurity
throughout the year and another 21 percent can access adequate food for only one to six
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