Number of stunted children decreases worldwide
০৩ জুলাই, ১৩
Posted By: Healthprior21
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Number of stunted children decreases worldwide says medical journal The Lancet.The number of stunted children aged five and below, where malnutrition is the cause of underdevelopment, has decreased worldwide, according to The Lancet, a medical journal.
Bangladesh launched The Lancet Maternal and Child Nutrition Series 2013 yesterday in the auditorium of ICDDR,B in the capital. The series was published worldwide in June.
The number of stunted children in 1990 was 253 million, in 2005 it was 178 million and in 2011 it was 165 million, states the journal.
The World Health Assembly called for a global reduction of stunted children to 100 million in 2025, the series states.
Dr Tahmeed Ahmed, director of Centre for Nutrition and Food Security, ICDDR,B, said 41 percent of children aged five and below in Bangladesh in 2011 were stunted. The percentage is one of the highest in the world.
The situation of malnutrition in the country spans over many sectors; and so a policy involving all ministries is required to overcome it, said Dr Tahmeed.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Professor AFM Ruhal Haque said the new series would be helpful for the policymakers to formulate interventions.
Prof MR Khan, national professor and director of Institute of Child Health and John D Clemens, executive director, ICDDR,B among others, spoke at the launching ceremony.
Source - The Daily Star