Malnutrition: An evil to fight

Bangladesh is yet to free its citizens, especially women and children, from malnutrition. Despite some sporadic progress, levels of malnutrition in Bangladesh are amongst the highest in the world which we should not ignore. This is a major cause of death and diseases of children and women. In addition to maternal and child mortality, malnutrition is the root of increased premature delivery and elevated risks of heart disease and diabetes.
It is needless to say that the economic consequences of our malnutrition problem are profound resulting in loss of productivity and reduced intellectual and learning capacity for the citizens. We cannot dream of achieving a prosperous Bangladesh without eradicating malnutrition from Bangladesh where it widely prevails. We need to fight malnutrition by spreading education. Improving nutrition can have a significant impact on survival as well as physical and cognitive development and productivity. Good nutrition, comprising adequate quality and quantity of food intake and reduction of illness is also a basic human right and is an essential input for economic development. Bangladesh has already made substantial progress in reducing malnutrition but we need to step up our effort as we are yet to eradicate it completely. Our collective dream of establishing a prosperous Bangladesh is not far away if we can put a little more effort and care.

 Mohammed Sohel Hara
Shahjadpur, Dhaka
sohelhara@hotmail.com