Improving nutrition status needs joint effort

A combined effort by the government, NGOs, and civil society organisations is needed to improve the nutrition status of the country's people, said Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque yesterday.
A single ministry or an agency alone will not be able to improve the nutrition status as it is a multisectoral issue, he said.
The minister was addressing a seminar titled "Nutrition Programs in Bangladesh: Lessons Learned and Way Forward"organised by Bangladesh Civil Society Network for Promoting Nutrition (BCSNPN) at Cirdap auditorium in the capital.
Dr Khurshid Talukder, consultant of Centre for Women and Child Health, read out a keynote paper.
About half of the children and a quarter of the mothers suffer from malnutrition in the country, he said.
Member of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health Md Murad Hassan; Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development Dr Mihir Kanti Majumder; and the Directorate General of Health Services director general also spoke.
The speakers said sharing of research findings and experiences among development organisations can help the country reach the nutritional goal.