According to the National Nutrition Master Plan (2015-2025) draft, 23 percent children are born underweight while 18 percent pregnant mothers are facing malnutrition in Bangladesh. Also mothers and baby care attendants in the Haor and far flung rural areas do not follow 73 percent health rules in full.
Experts said a large number of the under-five children are facing higher degree of malnutrition with 36 percent of them comparatively being dwarfed, 14 percent lean and thin and 32 percent underweight in Bangladesh.
They also said that malnutrition is linked with poverty and social deprivation putting infants, small kids, and adolescents, pregnant ladies, breastfeeding mothers and the elders into a state of extreme challenge in respect of their mental and physical growth. Despite this adversity, the last three decades witnessed much progress in the state of nutrition in Bangladesh, the draft said.
According to the UNICEF, more than 100,000 new-born babies die each year due mainly to ignorance and lack of awareness about proper care of a mother during her pregnancy. Sometimes, girls face discrimination at home in taking nutritious foods, largely shared by the male members.
Another cruelty being witnessed in many families is that elder ladies are often neglected, not being taken proper care of while they are in distress either from disease or any other old-age complication. The elderly women are at risk due to changes in their metabolism, inability to cook or feed themselves and changes in appetite.
Malnutrition results from a poor diet or a lack of food and the World Health Organization (WHO) said that it is the gravest single threat to the global public health, particularly contributing to 45 percent deaths in children of under-5 years.
Speakers at a seminar held recently in the city disclosed that as many as 5.5 million children are facing malnutrition and also being deprived of all development initiatives in Bangladesh. Moreover, 70 percent of the total population is suffering from Zinc deficiency, despite Bangladesh’s tremendous success in poverty alleviation.
Officials of the Directorate of health and other global bodies said the percentage of shorter children was 60 in 1996-97, which came down to 41 in 2011. But the whole situation demands quick attention to further improve the child health in the country.
They dubbed nutrition as a cornerstone of any individual’s health, which is especially critical for women because inadequate nutrition wreaks havoc not only on women’s own health but also on the health of their children. Children of malnourished women are more likely to face cognitive impairments, short stature, lower resistance to infections, and a higher risk of disease and death throughout their lives.
Sylhet division remains the hub of the highest number of children with malnutrition as mentioned in a survey report titled Food Security in Bangladesh and the State of Nutrition-2012, prepared by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, European Union and the BRAC University.
The Directorate of Health sources said 25 percent families in Bangladesh are facing lack of food security with their 11 million children suffering from extreme hunger. An expected investment in developing the nutritional status in Bangladesh can earn Taka around 7,000 crore annually in productivity for the economy of Bangladesh.
