In Bangladesh, 12% of girls and women of reproductive age (15-49 years) are underweight.
There are also high levels of female micronutrient deficiency among non-pregnant women of reproductive age in the country, says a press release by Unicef.
According to a new report released by Unicef on Tuesday, a mother's circumstance – child marriage, lack of education and poor nutrition – is significantly linked to stunting among children in Bangladesh where about 4.4 million children under the age of five are stunted.
Bangladesh also has the eighth highest levels of child marriage in the world and the highest in South Asia: 51% of women were married before they turned 18 (data for women aged 20 to 24 years).
The data is from the report “A Global Nutrition Crisis in Adolescent Girls and Women” (https://www.unicef.org/reports/undernourished-overlooked-nutrition-crisis) – issued ahead of International Women's Day.
“It is a vicious cycle for girls who are underweight, out of school, and forced into child marriage. These girls become mothers of children who are already at a disadvantage from the moment they are born. We must do more to end this intergenerational burden of malnutrition,” said Mr. Sheldon Yett, Unicef Representative to Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, the number of pregnant and breastfeeding adolescent girls and women suffering from acute malnutrition has soared from 5.5 million to 6.9 million – or 25% around the world.
Since 2020, a total of 12 countries, hardest hit by the global food and nutrition crisis, saw a sharp increase, according to a new report released by Unicef on Tuesday,
The 12 countries – including Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen – represent the epicentre of a global nutrition crisis that has been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and ongoing drought, conflict, and instability in some countries.
– warns that the ongoing crises, aggravated by ongoing gender inequality, are deepening a nutrition crisis among adolescent girls and women that had already shown little improvement in the last two decades.
“The global hunger crisis is pushing millions of mothers and their children into hunger and severe malnutrition,” said Unicef Executive Director Catherine Russell.
“Without urgent action from the international community, the consequences could last for generations to come,” she added.
“When a girl or woman does not get adequate nutrition, gender inequality is perpetuated, learning and earning potential is lowered. The risk of life-threatening complications, including during pregnancy and childbirth increases, and the odds of giving birth to undernourished babies rise,” said Russell.
“We know what it takes to get life-saving nutrition support and services to the women and children who need it most. We just need to mobilize the political will and resources to act. There is no time to waste,” she added.
According to the report – an unprecedented and comprehensive look at the state of adolescent girls' and women's nutrition globally – more than one billion adolescent girls and women suffer from undernutrition - including underweight and short height - deficiencies in essential micronutrients, and anaemia, with devastating consequences for their lives and wellbeing.
Inadequate nutrition during girls' and women's lives can lead to weakened immunity, poor cognitive development, and an increased risk of life-threatening complications – including during pregnancy and childbirth – with dangerous and irreversible consequences for their children's survival, growth, learning, and future earning capacity.
Globally, 51 million children under two years suffer stunting, meaning they are too short for their age due to malnutrition.
Of those, about half become stunted during pregnancy and the first six months of life, the 500-day period when a child is fully dependent on maternal nutrition, the report states.
South Asia and sub-Saharan African remain the epicentre of the nutrition crisis among adolescent girls and women, home to 2 in 3 adolescent girls and women suffering from being underweight globally, and 3 in 5 adolescent girls and women with anemia.
Meanwhile, adolescent girls and women from the poorest households are twice as likely to suffer from being underweight as those from the wealthiest households, reads the press release.
Since last year, Unicef has scaled up its efforts in the countries hardest hit by the global nutrition crisis, including Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen, with an acceleration plan to prevent, detect, and treat wasting in women and children.
The report also calls for governments, development and humanitarian partners and donors, civil society organizations and development actors to transform food, health and social protection systems for adolescent girls and women by:
Prioritizing adolescent girls' and women's access to nutritious, safe and affordable diets, and protecting adolescent girls and women from ultra-processed foods through marketing restrictions, compulsory front-of-pack labelling and taxation.
Implementing policies and mandatory legal measures to expand large-scale food fortification of routinely consumed foods such as flour, cooking oil and salt to help reduce micronutrient deficiencies and anemia in girls and women.
Ensuring adolescent girls and women in low- and middle-income countries have free access to essential nutrition services, both before and during pregnancy, and while breastfeeding, including ante-natal multiple micronutrient supplements.
Expanding access to social protection programmes for the most vulnerable adolescent girls and women, including cash transfers and vouchers to improve girls' and women's access to nutritious and diverse diets.
And, accelerating the elimination of discriminatory gender and social norms such as child marriage and the inequitable sharing of food, household resources, income and domestic work.
