In Bangladesh, a quarter of adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 are stunted. The proportion of adolescents with a height below 145 cm (height cutoff level) has remained unchanged since 2011.
The proportion of women aged 20-24 who gave birth before the age of 18 was 24% (BDHS 2017/18). According to the 2022 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS), the age at marriage is slowly increasing.
Half of women aged 20 to 24 will marry before the age of 18 (the legal age of marriage), and more than one in four (27%) will marry by the age of 16. The proportion of women who marry before the age of 18 will fall from 65% in 2011 to 50% in 2022, up from 59% in 2017-18. According to BDHS 2014, one in three children under the age of five is stunted and 14% of children in the same age group suffer from acute malnutrition or wasting.
Women of reproductive age (15-49 years) also suffer from malnutrition, with 19% underweight and 24% overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 25).
The majority of affected children reach adolescence and adulthood with these nutritional deficiencies, which can impact their school performance, future productivity and overall national development.
The main factors contributing to this situation include poverty and food insecurity, inadequate access to basic social services such as health, education, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and inadequate diets. These include lack of variety, nutrient adequacy, and nutritional knowledge. .
Addressing this overwhelming challenge of malnutrition in all its forms requires urgent action by adopting a life cycle approach. This should include the active involvement of both demand- and supply-side actors, including children, youth, young adults, teachers, parents, governments, the private sector, and development partners.
Young people can engage in sharing knowledge, building awareness and facilitating the learning process. Although most people in our country are unaware of the deeper impact of nutrition and focus primarily on physical health, important elements of cognitive development and intellectual nutrition are missing from all communication and learning materials. I am.
For a long time, nutritional education and practices for children and adolescents in Bangladesh have been extremely inadequate. A variety of isolated, disconnected, uncoordinated, quick-fix, project-based, short-term initiatives by governments and development partners have created a chaotic system in this area.
This situation was further exacerbated by the Bangladeshi government’s adoption of exaggerated and ambitious development plans without consideration of local realities, and the subsequent lack of implementation plans, proper monitoring, and resources. It is critical to rethink the existing, long-established nutrition education approaches adopted by governments and development agencies.
The caretaker government is grappling with a major reform challenge and this process will take time, but setting priorities is critical to moving in the right direction. Nutrition is considered a key indicator of development and is of great importance in building a well-nourished generation, ultimately contributing to the creation of an intellectually rich and healthy population.
As a result, healthcare costs for both the government and the public will be reduced.
The good news is that the National Nutrition Action Plan (NPAN) has already identified key action items and the National Food and Nutrition Security Policy (NFNSP) 2020 Action Plan by the Ministry of Food specifically recognizes platforms for youth like girls. That’s what I’m doing. Guides, girl guide associations and nutrition clubs are important platforms for spreading knowledge about healthy eating and lifestyle.
It would be beneficial if the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) takes the lead and involves other relevant ministries to focus on the activities and targets set in these policies. There is no reason to delay implementing these actions to reduce malnutrition and build a healthy generation.
Another critical issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of coordination in the field of nutrition. Various government agencies, UN agencies, donors, INGOs, and NGOs operate in isolation and are reluctant to learn from each other, adopt successful models, or coordinate the pursuit of common challenges. is often. Nutrition is a multisectoral development challenge that involves many stakeholders and requires appropriate and responsible coordination mechanisms.
All these efforts should aim at behavioral change in different segments of society (from children to the elderly), primarily on the demand side. It is also important to focus on the nutrient ecosystem, especially the supply side.
In the nutritional ecosystem, it is important to ensure access and availability of nutritious foods of appropriate quality and safety. School lunch programs are established as a proven and effective model for ensuring student nutrition from an early age. Although Bangladesh has had a school feeding program for a long time, a scalable model has not yet been developed. Newly adopted school feeding policies and guidelines rely heavily on NGOs, which needs to be reviewed and the private sector prioritized to ensure efficient and high-quality supply chains for raw materials and processing. need to.
Bangladesh could also consider adopting the successful model of countries like Japan, which could help develop the local business ecosystem that would benefit young entrepreneurs, the agricultural sector, and the food industry.
Without proper guidance and monitoring systems, there is a high risk of reverting to previous paper-based development cycles. It is therefore time for the transitional government to address these issues and put nutrition at the forefront of the development agenda.
As we strive for a better-nourished Bangladesh that is more competitive on the world stage and healthier as a nation, we hope the government will consider further investment in nutrition as a priority area.
Moun Shahid Uddin Akbar is the CEO of BIID Foundation and founder of the Nutrition Club and the International Nutrition Olympiad.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Business Standard.
