Although Bangladesh has achieved food security, it is yet to ensure nutrition for all, said International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Director General Shenggen Fan.
Still 36% of children aged under five are stunted, he said while addressing a press conference organised to mark IFPRI’s 40th founding anniversary at a hotel in the capital yesterday.
“From 1990 to 2014, the percentage of people suffering from hunger in the country had come down to half. I am optimistic that Bangladesh government can bring the number of people suffering from lack of nutrition to zero by 2025,” said Shenggen.
The conference highlighted that when planning development oriented initiatives, any government must pay attention to the findings and suggestions made by different research organisations
This can bring out the best output, said Akhter Ahmed, IFPRI representative in Bangladesh.
“The country has already achieved food security by analysing all gaps and opportunities underscored in different study findings,” he said.
Therefore, the remaining issues related to food security and nutrition must be handled with more attention and research.
According to the latest progress report, Bangladesh is on track to achieve five out of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
It has made remarkable improvement in poverty reduction, ensuring gender parity in enrollment in primary and secondary schools, and curbing child and maternal mortality rate.
However, progress still remains slow in areas like hunger reduction, elevating nutrition rate, sanitation, environmental sustainability, and certain aspects of gender parity.
With an aim to eradicate huger by 2015, IFPRI and partners, including Bangladesh, are going to launch a new initiative titled “Compact 2015” in November this year.