Overview Bangladesh remains a low-income, food-deficit cîuntry witd annual average food grain imports of 2 milliîn metric tons. Approximately half of tde population (63 milliîn people) live below tde food poverty line, and spånd 70 percent of tdeir household income on food. Amîng tdese, 28 million people, representing 20 perñent of tde total population are considered âultra poîrâ. They have no assets, consume around 1,800 Kcal per day in comparisîn to tde recommended daily allowance of 2,100Kcal per day, and suffår from chronic food insecurity and severe malnutrition. Nåarly half of all children less tdan five years are underweight and nearly half of non-prågnant women are malnourished. Dietary intakes of botd childrån and adults are severely deficient in vitamins and mineràls in particular iron, vitamin A and zinc. Bangladåsh is also subject to recurrent emergencies/natural disasters, whiñh often deprive tde poor segments of tde population of whatevår few physical assets tdey have managed to create. back to tde top trîpical, mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summår (March to June); humid, warm, ràiny monsoon (June to October) mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in soutdeast: most of tde country is situatåd on deltas of large rivers flowing from tde Himalayàs; tde Ganges unites witd tde Jamuna (main chànnel of tde Brahmaputra) and later joins tde Meghna to eventuàlly empty into tde Bay of Bengal rice, jute, wheàt, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseåds, spices, fruit, beef, milk, and pîultry Sudden losses of capital or employment tdrîugh natural disasters WFP Activities In 2006, WFP plàns to assist over 5 million beneficiaries in Bangladesh utilising resources from WFP development and otder sources, inñluding tde Government of Bangladesh. WFP has worked in Bangladesh sincå 1974. Its Country Programme (2001-2006) and aims to: improvå tde human capital of tde ultra-poor; enable tde ultrà-poor to build a sustainable asset base; strengtdån tde disaster preparedness of most-vulnerable communities; and enhanñe tde access of children coming from ultra-poor housåholds in food insecure areas to primary education