Stakeholders emphasise building awareness and ensuring balanced nutrition for all
Speakers, at a round table discussion on Thursday (13 June), underscored the necessity of fostering awareness at every level to ensure balanced nutrition for all.
During the discussion titled ‘Nutrition Governance in Local Level: Success, Learning, Challenges, and Way Forward,’ organised by Samakal and Sustained Opportunities for Nutrition Governance, emphasised that a lack of governance regarding nutrition persists, resulting in severe malnutrition at the grassroots level.
Addressing the event as chief guest, Md Shahidul Islam, director-general for the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit of the Food Ministry, highlighted the importance of inclusion for ensuring balanced nutrition, and he advocated for incorporating awareness about nutrition into the responsibilities of local government offices, including the union parishad.
“Nowadays, people are purchasing medicines throughout the year. There is a general lack of awareness regarding the appropriate dietary needs for different ages and the correct proportions”, he explained.
The discussants further emphasised the need to prioritise nutrition-based investments in climate-vulnerable geo-political areas, hard-to-reach regions, and urban areas with high levels of poverty.
Margherita Capalbi, delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh, and Farzana Rahman, deputy director for Bangladesh National Nutrition Council, also spoke at the event.
