40 pc children born with low birth weights

They often continue to suffer from malnutrition through the first two years of their lives, the most critical years from a nutrition perspective, which denies them the chance of a better life and denies Bangladesh of human resources that the country deserves and needs.

This was disclosed at a workshop, jointly organised by the Bangladesh government, the SAVE the Children (UK) and the World Bank here recently, said a press release yesterday.

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The workshop was followed by a number of meetings to discuss ways of improving both coordination and quality of work being done in this area, the release added.

The participants at the workshop agreed on a common set of recommendations for the coming year, which include working together to analyse the impact of past and current projects, strengthen project monitoring and evaluation and increase consultations with communities.

Agreements for the longer term include developing a larger version and revised plan of action for nutrition in Bangladesh, increasing linkage between nutrition and general health interventions, and coordinating various nutrition interventions.

The participants also agreed that they must proceed riding on the successes of previous experiences and learn from their shortcomings to help Bangladesh strengthen its nutrition interventions for the future.