Md. Jahangir Hussain :
There is a universal saying “Prevention is better than Cure”. Now we can clearly say that nutrition is better than treatment. In general term deviation from normal condition is disease. In Bangladesh people are affecting by many diseases. What is the source of diseases? There are many causes behind diseases. The prime cause behind disease in Bangladesh is malnutrition. It is widely recognized that ‘Malnutrition is the largest single contributor to physical and mental under-development and disease’.
The prevalence of malnutrition in Bangladesh is one of the highest in the world. Millions of children and women suffer from one or more forms of malnutrition including low birth weight, wasting, stunting and underweight, Vitamin-A deficiencies, iodine deficiency disorders, anemia etc. These sorts of malnutrition not only affect individuals but also it transmits from one generation to the next. This vulnerable scenario in Bangladesh is dangerous and need to address with collective efforts of government, international agencies, civil society, NGOs and other private organizations.
Facilities of modern treatment and expansion of medical education in Bangladesh is growing rapidly. It is a good sign for us. But what about nutrition related education and facilities in Bangladesh. Nutrition related education and facilities exist in Bangladesh but it is far from satisfactory level.
In Bangladesh, crop production, predominantly rice, is characterized by fluctuations in yield that are tied to climatic conditions. Recurrent natural disasters such as floods and cyclones have affected rice production and the livelihoods of both urban and rural populations. On the other hand diversified food production has not increased up to the expectation. Moreover food habit in Bangladesh particularly in rural areas has not changed. People mostly habituated to eat much rice. Food security and access of the poor to a diverse and balanced diet remains a challenge in Bangladesh
Of course the government has renewed its resolve to deliver nutrition-specific interventions at the community level, through a comprehensive nutrition package including support for breastfeeding and complementary feeding, dietary diversification, food supplementation and fortification as well as management of severe malnutrition. Efforts are being taken to coordinate policies that set out shared nutrition-related objectives across the sectors to improving access to nutritious foods through the agriculture sector.
International Agencies like WHO, UNICEF, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) are driven by the vision of a world without malnutrition. International NGOs fight to malnutrition in Bangladesh through innovative and sustainable models that increase access to affordable nutritious foods and improve dietary quality among communities vulnerable to malnutrition.
Presently a number of challenges remain in nutrition related field in Bangladesh. These are improving health care-seeking behavior such as education, awareness-raising and skills building in recognizing and treating pneumonia and obstetric emergencies, lake of alertness in respect of sanitation, hygiene and the supply of pure water and emergence of arsenic in tube well water, leading to arsenic.
The Country Investment Plan (2011) is a five-year plan for mobilizing funds to support effective public investment to increase and diversify food availability in a sustainable manner and improve access to food and nutrition security. The government and external partners also contribute to agriculture and social protection programme; however large funding gaps remain in these sectors. In the agriculture and food security sector investments are being proposed that support small holder farmers particularly women so as to make significant contributions to child nutrition.
To tackle malnutrition, a broad national comprehensive nutrition policy and effective better integration of nutrition programmes are required. A multi-sectoral approach also needs to be considered. The government has renewed its resolve and commitment to advance progress on scaling up nutrition through a strong multi-sectoral approach.
Now it is clear to save the nation and the people and for the advancement of the country massive arrangements are required for eradication of malnutrition. Efforts of food security, balance diet for people, diversified agricultural or food production strategies should be needed. Nutrition related education and campaign should be increased more. Existing education, research and publicity in this respect should be increased in massive way. Because prevention is better than cure and nutrition is the main factor of prevention of diseases.
Therefore massive coordinated efforts of government, civil society, United Nations agencies, business and donors should be taken for the betterment of people and the country.
(Md. Jahangir Hussain is Senior Deputy Principal Information Officer, Press Information Department (PID))
