Better economy helps little in addressing malnutrition: Study

FE Team | Published: January 24, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

A nationwide study has found prevalence of highest rate of malnutrition in north- and southeastern regions of Sylhet and Chittagong despite their relatively better economy.
"The Sylhet and Chittagong divisions are known for their better status in terms of poverty, compared to relatively poor northwestern Rajshahi or southeastern Khulna. But their nutrition status speaks otherwise," a specialist of World Food Programme (WFP) told BSS referring to a newly -released nutrition mapping.
WFP's Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping Unit official Kayenat Kabir said the finding of their study conducted jointly with Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) showed the nutrition status of the south- and the southwestern regions were better than that of the two other relatively developed regions of the country.
In Sylhet division, she said stunting and underweight rates were found not in the remote haor areas alone, but also in all upazilas of the region and "this rate is above WHO-set critical threshold level".
Kayenat said in contrast, despite its higher poverty rates, the Khulna division was found to be the region with lowest stunting rates.
"But the study found both the stunting and underweight rates to be highest among the under-five children in Sylhet -- with 44.6 per cent stunted and 38.5 underweight children," she said.
According to the Small Area Estimation (SAE) study, in terms of stunting and underweight, Chittagong region earned the second position from the bottom with Sylhet being the worst victim of the malnutrition that causes the two health hazards.
Barisal and Khulna divisions have the lowest stunting and underweight rates.
The SAE found that 40.4 per cent children suffer from stunting and 32.3 suffer from underweight in Dhaka while 41 per cent stunting and 34 underweight among the children were reported in Rajshahi and 42.1 stunting and 35.7 underweight reported in Rangpur.
Chairperson of Training and Assistance for Health and Nutrition Foundation Dr Rukhsana Haider said the geographically rugged or vulnerable should get greater focus in the efforts to fight malnutrition.
"But the government agencies, NGOs (non-government organisations) and donor agencies are working on under nutrition in an isolated manner . . . their coordinated efforts will yield better results," she said.