Staff Correspondent

The prevalence of malnutrition among the children of the country’s coastal belts remains significantly high, causing their impaired growth and low weight-for-height, according a study.

The findings of the study titled “Child Profile Estimates and Costing Model Development to Reduce Child Undernutrition in Selected Coastal Area of Bangladesh” were disclosed at a function at hotel Lakeshore in the capital on Monday.

Technical working group and advisory committee of Bangladesh National Nutrition Council and TTC jointly conducted the study. On behalf of Right2Grow consortium, Save the Children, Bangladesh supported the study.

Dr Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman, director general (in-charge) of Bangladesh National Nutrition Council (BNNC), chaired the event while Dr Farzana Rahman, its deputy director and Dr Mohsin Ali, consultant of BNNC, presented the study results.

The research was carried on the basis of data of the children aged below five years in 40 union parishads under five coastal upazilas of different districts. The upazilas are Debhata, Dumuria, Golachipa, Potuakhali and Taltoli.

According to study findings, the prevalence of stunting among under-five children stood at 28.4%, with variations across these upazilas. The highest rate of stunting was observed in Galachipa (36.8%), underscoring the need for targeted nutritional interventions.

The wasting affected 13.3% of children, with a notably higher incidence among the male children. The findings indicate an immediate need for emergency nutritional support and long-term strategies to prevent acute malnutrition.

Meanwhile, 19.3% of the children were underweight, highlighting a persistent issue that requires comprehensive strategies, including food security and nutritional education to address them.

The study findings revealed that in the mentioned five upazilas, the stunting and wasting levels among under-five children were higher compared to the level in national and the respective divisions.

The study also revealed the prevalence of low food security (37%), underscoring the critical need for interventions aimed at enhancing food availability and diversity.

The study team developed the child nutrition profiling practice/application for an individual child and a simple community-led tool as well.

In the selected upazilas, as per the study, except for the underweight, the prevalence of stunting and wasting among children under five years old was notably higher compared to the national and corresponding divisional level status found in Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2022.

Higher household dietary diversity as a common predictor have had a positive impact on both childhood underweight and stunting. However, unlike stunting or being underweight, wasting did not have any such common predictor, the study said.