Multisectoral Approaches to Addressing Malnutrition in Bangladesh: The Role of Agriculture and Microcredit

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Abstract

The objective of this study is to demonstrate how the interaction between sectors can be improved to increase the effectiveness of sectoral interventions, and how the interventions in the agricultural sector and microfinance can be used to improve nutritional outcomes. The study will examine what has been done to improve nutrition through interventions in the agriculture sector and microcredit programmes in Bangladesh and around the world, how they were implemented and to the extent possible, what the impact of those interventions was. The populations of primary concern for this study are infants, children and women of childbearing age, the group that is the target of many of the millennium development goals. The study will also pay special attention to the extent to which programmes and policies are successful at reaching poor and vulnerable groups in society and thus, reduce inequalities in nutrition. The introduction provides the background and rationale for this work. Chapter two assesses the status of malnutrition in Bangladesh, provides a brief history of policies and programmes to address malnutrition in the country and lays out the case for a multi-sectoral response to malnutrition. Chapter three reviews the potential role of interventions in the agriculture sector, including existing evidence on the impact of such interventions and institutional and other challenges to enhancing the impact. Chapter four provides a similar review of the role of microcredit programmes in improving nutrition outcomes. Recommendations on using multi-sectoral approaches to improve nutrition in Bangladesh are the subject of chapter five.