According to the Bangladesh Constitution, nutrition is a fundamental human right, and the government has invested heavily to ensure it. Over the years, the country has made significant progress in reducing malnutrition, with hunger scores improving from 26.1 in 2018 to 19.6 in 2022, and stunting increasing from 41 per cent in 2011 to 31 per cent in 2017-18. decreased, and wastage decreased from 16 percent. From 2011 he increased to 8% in 2017-2018. This commitment to improving national nutrition was also reflected in the 2021 Tokyo Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit, where our honorable Prime Minister reaffirmed Bangladesh’s commitment to national nutrition. Building on the pledges made at the previous N4G Summit, the 2021 commitments are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and the World Health Assembly objectives on maternal and child health, and reflect evolving global and national priorities. It became.
N4G Summit 2021 saw a total of 12 commitments made under four thematic categories.
Health: Focusing on making nutrition an integral part of universal health coverage, this category focuses on the prevalence of childhood stunting, childhood wasting, childhood obesity, and low birth weight. Six commitments were made to reduce the incidence and prevalence of anemia among children. Target women of reproductive age and strengthen recruitment of nutrition workers at the local level.
Food systems: To build food systems that promote healthy diets, the three commitments made under this theme are: the prevalence of undernourishment, the prevalence of severe and moderate food insecurity, and the prevalence of food as dietary energy. The aim was to reduce the country’s dependence on grains.
Resilience: Expanding the coverage of nutrition-related social safety net programs and increasing the potential impact of nutrition outcomes to address malnutrition in fragile and conflict-affected areas. was promised.
Accountability and Finance: Initiatives in this category include strengthening multisectoral nutrition surveillance systems, tracking finances allocated to nutrition, securing new investments, and promoting innovation in nutrition financing.
The N4G Operational Framework, which outlines key strategies and priority actions to achieve each category of commitments, was developed under the supervision of the SUN Multi-Stakeholder Platform with the National Nutrition Council of Bangladesh, with technical support from Nutrition International. It was developed under.
Key strategies to achieve health, food systems and resilience initiatives
To meet health-related commitments, some of the proposed strategies include: sexual and reproductive health services, maternal and child health services, screening and referral of children for severe and acute malnutrition to hospital treatment, and parasitic diseases. management, and improving health care delivery. Nutritional supplements such as iron and folic acid. At the school level, there are plans to train health professionals to counsel young people about healthy lifestyles and physical activity, and such topics are integrated into school curricula. To reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity, this strategy focuses on the regulation of packaged ultra-processed foods, especially their marketing to children. Appointment and training of nutrition officers in all districts and nutritionists in health facilities is also proposed. The provision of drinking water and sanitation facilities to prevent water-borne diseases is also one of the key approaches recommended to achieve health-related initiatives.
Efforts related to food systems are directed towards ensuring adequate and high-quality food and its consumption, especially among women, children and adolescents. This relates to school feeding programmes, with suggested actions to provide more nutritious meals in schools. A focus on locally available and affordable foods promotes dietary diversity. Farmers are encouraged to grow more drought-tolerant ethnic crops and diversify into fishing and livestock farming to reduce dependence on grains.
To address the challenges posed by disasters and emergencies, it is proposed to expand the scope of social safety programs to maximize impact on the most vulnerable sectors. Alternative livelihood programs can be provided to people living in coastal areas and other disaster-prone areas.
Multi-sectoral synergy with full accountability
While the operational frameworks provide concrete actions to achieve their respective commitments, multisectoral collaboration is central to the success of these plans. The framework identifies the ministries that will lead each intervention. For example, seven commitments (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10) need to be led by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, while three of them (6, 7, 8) fall under the ministry’s jurisdiction. be. The remaining two (11 and 12) are administered by the Ministry of Planning and the Ministry of Finance, respectively. However, what is important to note is that beyond these four ministries, there are 17 other ministries that will play a key role in achieving these commitments. Government departments at all levels need to consider development interventions through a nutrition lens.
To ensure close coordination between ministries and levels of governance, a multi-sectoral nutrition monitoring system has been developed to regularly monitor key indicators of different programmes. A multi-sectoral budget tracking system for nutrition has also been developed to check budget allocation and utilization for nutrition-specific or nutrition-sensitive interventions across different sectors and ministries at national and sub-national levels.
In order to facilitate the implementation of N4G activities at the sub-national level through district and upazila nutrition coordinating committees, the National Nutrition Council of Bangladesh has organized workshops to sensitize operational guidelines to stakeholders and conduct engaging discussions with stakeholders. We plan to encourage further discussion.
Bangladesh’s resolute commitment to nutrition is demonstrated through its active participation in the N4G Summit, underscoring its unwavering dedication to the welfare of its people. With significant financial support and a clearly defined strategy, Bangladesh is poised for significant progress in nutrition and overall health outcomes. This initiative means a united pursuit of a healthier future for all and highlights the vital role of nutrition in national development.
Saiqa Siraj is Nutrition International’s Bangladesh Country Director. Dr. Hasan Shahriar Kabir is a former executive director of the National Nutrition Council of Bangladesh.
