BSS, Rangpur :
Creating social awareness side by side acquainting the rural parents with available nutritious foodstuffs all around have become necessity of the time for preventing malnutrition of the children.
Speakers said this at a daylong nutrition fair organised by Pirganj Area Development Programme (ADP) of World Vision Bangladesh (WVB) under its Child Welfare Project at Sannyashi Bazar High School ground in Pirganj upazila on Thursday.
The fair was arranged to create comprehensive awareness about child health and ways for preventing their maturation through demonstrating different available nutritional foodstuffs in rural areas and inputs.
Six stalls namely ‘Protein’, ‘Starch’, ‘Vitamin’, ‘Water’, ‘Fat’ and ‘Mineral Salts’ were set up in the fair introducing concerned foodstuffs among the visiting 500 mothers, students and local people to create awareness among them.
Besides, separate stalls were also set up in the fair displaying necessity and ways of meeting nutritional demand of pregnant women, anti natal care, balanced diets for women during pregnancy, homestead gardening and emergency medicare services.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Pirganj ATM Ziaul Islam formally inaugurated the fair with the theme of ‘Child Nutrition, Right Now’ as the chief guest with Pirganj ADP Manager Francis P. Nath in the chair.
Chatra union chairman Mizanur Rahman Raju, Headmaster of Baro Alampur High School Mokbul Hossain, Project Manager of the Children Welfare Project of WVB Badal Sangma, senior journalists Mazharul Islam Milan and Masudur Rahman, also spoke.
Highlighting objectives of the fair, the speakers stressed for creating awareness among rural people on proper selection of nutritious foodstuffs including vegetables to overcome deficiency of protein, vitamins, iodine, iron and minerals for the children. Narrating severe complications of malnutrition, they said the rate of night blindness, infant and child mortalities could be reduced further through preventing deficiency of protein, vitamins, iodine, iron, mineral among the babies and children.
The chief guest said many babies, children, mothers, pregnant women and adolescents are suffering from malnutrition due to lack of adequate social awareness, knowledge and inappropriate food habits that cause subsequent complications. He suggested for proper selection and consumption of nutritious foodstuffs like vegetables in preventing deficiency of protein, vitamin, iodine, iron and minerals of the people of all ages including mothers, babies and children to build a healthy nation.
