Malnutrition hits Bangladesh production by Tk 80 billon a year: WFP

A World Food Programme (WFP) report on Bangladesh food security has said a sizeable chunk of its population is still undernourished and it is hampering production by around Tk 80 billion.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 26 Oct 2016, 10:08 PM
Updated : 26 Oct 2016, 10:08 PM

A large amount is also being drained by the health sector owing to this undernourishment.

These findings were disclosed by the WFP Independent Strategic Report on Food Security and Nutrition in Bangladesh, which was released on Wednesday at Dhaka.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Northern Ireland-based Ulster University Professor Siddiqur Rahman Osmani and WFP Chief of Staff James Harvey were present at the event.

The report quotes a recent research finding that says that a fourth of Bangladesh population, numbering about 40 million, live in abject malnutrition of which 10 million face a critical food security scare.

The report identifies child marriage as the biggest cause behind malnutrition. The children inherit the effects of parental lack of nutrition, it says.

In this way, the country fails to generate a well-nourished population.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith said government support has led to some development in the situation.

Comparing the situation to the 1980s of the last century, he said a social movement against child marriage has yielded encouraging results.

Legislation forbidding marriage below 18 years has now led to late marriages becoming rather common, he claimed.

The minister conceded that problems in distribution of nutritious food exist and said the government needs to concentrate on that front.

Ulster University's Professor Osmani also blamed the distribution mechanism for the lack of nutrition in the country.

Speaking at the event, he praised the success of Bangladesh in attaining food self sufficiency.

He said climate change may pose the biggest challenge in attaining a hunger-free Bangladesh by 2030.