Shoba Suri*
The BIMSTEC comprising of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Nepal is meant to bridge the South Asia and Southeast Asia region. The 2030 SDG goal 2 agenda aims to ‘end hunger, achieve food security and promote sustainable agriculture’. The countries are putting the SDGs into practice by changing the priorities and capacity of the food system to ensure that everyone has access to nutrient-dense food. What's needed may be a transformative action to beat the gaps in achieving the SDG. Some countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan and Thailand have made headway in reducing malnutrition. Investing in women empowerment and agency, water and sanitation and healthy food basket are key to achieving food security. A holistic approach to improve women’s health and nutrition that is scalable and replicable for other countries to learn is required. Investment in agriculture, being the most important economic sector for the BIMSTEC countries could pave way for availability and accessibility of food and address malnutrition. This might also accelerate progress across SDGs on poverty, health, gender, inequality and global climate change.
Published Date: 2025-03-20; Received Date: 2024-02-06
