Sylhet division has the highest rate of child malnutrition in the country. However, the division also has the highest breastfeeding rate at 85.7%, while the whole country's breastfeeding rate is 46.6%.
Civil Surgeon Dr SM Shahriar said: “Although the number of stunted children in Sylhet is the highest, we are making progress in breastfeeding. The rate of breastfeeding in the whole country is 46.6%, but in Sylhet district, this rate is 85.7%.”
This information was revealed in the Sylhet District Nutrition Action Workshop organized by the Sylhet District Administration and Civil Surgeon Office in collaboration with Save the Children International at Sylhet on Tuesday.
Dr Swapnil Sourov Roy, medical officer of the Civil Surgeon Office, highlighted the position of Sylhet district in the development of nutrition through a PowerPoint presentation. He mentioned that the number of stunted children in Sylhet is the highest.
The workshop also revealed that the number of stunted children under 5 years is 28% across the country, but this rate is 38%, 44%, and 30% in Sylhet, Sunamgonj, and Moulvibazar, respectively.
Dr Swapneel Saurabh Roy said: “The people of Sylhet region are not used to eating small fish. People here tend to eat rice with a small amount of sutki (Dry Fish) and jhal (Spicy).
“The number of children per family is higher in some frontier upazilas. Overall malnutrition rates are high in this region. In this situation, investing in nutrition is very important,” he also added.
Reasons behind malnutrition
Experts have found six reasons behind the higher child malnutrition rate in Sylhet. The reasons are low household food production rates, backwardness in education, early marriage, a lack of nutritious food habits, a high number of children per family, and a low healthcare utilization rate.
Apart from this, the rate of wasting children (low weight compared to height) is 10% across the country, but this rate is 11% in the Sylhet division. The number of underweight children is 23% in the whole country, but in the Sylhet division, this rate is 32%.
The workshop was presided over by Civil Surgeon Dr SM Shahriar, while Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md Mujibur Rahman was the chief guest.
Deputy Director of Family Planning Department Dr Lutfun Nahar Jasmine, Sylhet Sadar Upazila Chairman Ashfaq Ahmad, Balaganj Upazila Chairman Mostakur Rahman Mafur, Osmaninagar Upazila Chairman Shamim Ahmad, Kanighat Upazila Chairman Abdul Momin Chowdhury, Sylhet Press Club President Iqbal Siddique, Sylhet Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Nusrat Ajmeri Haque among others spoke while Save the Children Senior Manager Consortium Md Al Amin conducted on the workshop.
Muhammad Ali Reza, deputy program director of Save the Children, presented another power point on the challenges and obstacles at the field level in improving nutrition.
