�Food security, nutrition still major challenges�
Food security and nutrition are major challenges for the country to combat hunger and malnutrition for the overgrowing population, observed experts. Director General of International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Shenggen Fan said, Bangladesh is doing better in combating malnutrition and hunger compared to many other countries. Still Bangladesh needs more attention in food security and nutrition. This country has already halved hunger from 1990-2014 and it can end undernutrition by 2025.
He said this at a press conference organised by IFPRI at a city hotel on the occasion of launching a new global initiative to end hunger and malnutrition by 2025. About child stunting, Fan said, Though the percentage of stunting is still high in many countries, Bangladesh is doing better here. The countrys progress in reducing child stunting is remarkable and at 36 percent of under-five children are stunted. Though its difficult to reach zero percent in child stunting at least it should be below five percent.
He said lack of micro-nutrients in food is responsible for poor physical and mental health and hunger has to be addressed to combat poverty. Though Bangladesh is on track or has already achieved five of the eight millennium development goals (MDGs) like poverty reduction, gender parity in primary and secondary school enrollment and child and maternal mortality ration but it remains slow in important areas such as hunger reduction, better nutrition, good sanitation, environmental sustainability and certain aspects of gender parity, he added.
Fan said IFPRI and partners including Bangladesh would launch a new initiative in November: Compact 2025, which will serve as a global knowledge and innovation hub to experiment, learn and share evidence for pragmatic, action-oriented strategies to eliminate hunger and undernutrition by 2025.
He also sounds optimistic that Bangladesh has better investment in agricultural production compared to other countries like India.
IFPRI representative in Bangladesh Dr Akhter Ahmed said Bangladesh made remarkable success through the programme food for education that helped increase enrolment in primary education and nutrition in social safety net programme has brought robust result in reducing stunting.
Now Bangladesh is a role model for many countries through the programme food for education, he added.
Akhter also put emphasis on diversity of food grains to get more calories to combat hunger and malnutrition.
Research in agriculture is very important to fill knowledge gaps on critical food security and agricultural development issues. Bangladeshs commitment to enacting research driven policies is remarkable and it has willingness to use research for policymaking, he added.
