‘50pc children underweight'

Quoting the reports of government, World Bank and the United Nations, the paper said recovery of 34 percent of the underweight children from malnutrition is non-attainable at the present rate of progress, while Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target to halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger and malnutrition.

Usha Mishra Joshi, senior advisor to World Food Programme (WFP), and AK Motahar Hossain, director general of Food Planning and Monitoring Unit (FPMU), presented the keynote at the workshop organised by the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management in collaboration with the WFP at IDB Bhaban in the city.

According to World Bank MDG report, Bangladesh has far higher level of child malnutrition than expected at its present level of per capita GDP. This further underscores that access to available food is seriously limited, said the presenters.

They said about 70 percent people of the country were under food-based poverty line in the 70's, which now has come down to less than 50 percent meaning that about six crore people are still under poverty line.

"This number is also larger than most other global cases, leaving half the country far from being food secured," they added.

Demographic changes in the upcoming years are likely to affect poverty and hunger in adverse ways, the paper said, adding, "Issues of governance and accountability further thwart the attempts at providing targeted safety nets."

The keynote paper apprehended that the production of crops in Bangladesh would be compromised by agricultural land decreasing at one percent annually and the impact of climate changes.

"Any growth must come from increased productivity that demands investment in agricultural research and education," it suggested.

The paper also suggested diversification of food basket to attain minimum self-sufficiency in the non-cereal food grains and improve food access.

"Our policy programme must aim at improving and enhancing food security targeting the women and children, as this strata of society is the most vulnerable among the hungry," said Edward Mathew Kallon, WFP Deputy Country Director to Bangladesh.

Speaking as chief guest Food and Disaster Management Minister Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yousuf said despite significant achievements in food grain production, food security at national, household and individual levels remain a matter of major concern for the government.

Muhammad Fazlur Rahman, secretary-in-charge of the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management, chaired the inaugural session of the two-day workshop.