Poor household income and lack of knowledge are among the reasons hindering people’s choice to consume fortified food in parts of Rangpur and Nilphamari districts, says a report of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b). It further says, food fortification has received worldwide recognition for its potential to address the issue of micronutrient deficiency as one of the most cost-effective strategies to increase the regular consumption of micronutrients.
Medical experts shared the research report at a discussion on “Food Fortification towards Sustainable Nutrition Security” jointly organised by CARE Bangladesh, Plan International Bangladesh, Eco-Social Development Organisation (ESDO) and an English daily in the capital on Monday. The research was conducted under “Joint Action for Nutrition Outcome”, funded by the European Union and Austrian Development Cooperation. The report says, one of the health consequences of micronutrient deficiency is anemia, caused by iron deficiency, and remains one of the biggest public health concerns in Bangladesh.
According to the WHO, food fortification is the practice of deliberately increasing the content of one or more micronutrients (i.e., vitamins and minerals) in a food or condiment to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply and provide a public health benefit with minimal risk to health. As per the report, 37 per cent of respondents had faced difficulty in buying fortified food and 40 per cent had not been able to buy fortified foods. The most common reason mentioned for not being able to buy fortified food during Covid-19 was decrease in income, it says, adding that only 41 per cent of respondents had heard about fortified food, and among them, 52 per cent did not know the process of food fortification.
Experts recommended that although the target population comprises pregnant and lactating women and adolescents, husbands and household heads should also be informed of micronutrient deficiencies and ways to address it. Alongside key informant interviews and in-depth interviews, a household survey of 507 women was held during the research in 14 villages. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected simultaneously but independently between August and September 2021.
In view of this new thought process developed in the profession of medicine, the medical functionaries have to be more vigilant so that the new methodology can be implemented across the country.
