MANY of us were under the impression that only children borne by the poor are deprived of nutritious food and thus suffer from acute malnutrition. Recent government studies indicate that malnutrition is prevalent amongst children from both wealthy and poor families alike. The disparity only comes in the type of food fed to the children in question. This unfortunate rise of malnourishment amongst children raises alarms for parents and the government as the country’s future depends on the health and well-being of the children. The ‘National Food Policy Plan of Action and Country Investment Plan’ contained the surprising findings and the research was conducted by the Food Ministry in last March. The report confirmed what many nutritionists fear – that poor children are not fed necessary food containing healthy vitamins, minerals, proteins and fibres and also that children of rich families are fed unhealthy fast food that does not contain the aforementioned necessary vitamins, minerals, proteins and fibres. The tragedy of it is not only that poor illiterate parents do not have the ability to provide healthy food for their children, but also that literate wealthy parents overlook the importance of nutritious food and feed their children unhealthy junk food despite having the means to provide them balanced food. The report also shed light on how undernourished mothers, poor breastfeeding practices, unemployed or poorly paid parents, inadequate sanitation and food insecurity are significant factors contributing to the degraded nutritional situation. The malnourishment rate among children of wealthy families’ was 15.4% according to the report and it was 21.1% among children from poor families. What has us further astounded is that milk consumption in Bangladesh is very low, with only 33.7 ml per capita being consumed daily where it should be 130 ml. Senior Paediatrician MQK Talukder criticized the government’s role in fighting against malnutrition as the government takes no other initiatives apart from simply ‘giving training to nutrition workers’. Further support needs to be extended by the government in order to reach more people and increase awareness. This report also stands as a wake up call for literate parents who have the means to feed proper healthy food to their children. If the government and parents do nothing to change this now, our new generation stands to see a bleak future.
