What: Nutrition Olympiad 2018 - Nutrition and Empowerment of Youth for a Healthy Nation 

When: 21 April 2018

Where: at BICC, Agargaon, Sher-E-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka

Child malnutrition has shown significant decline by a third since the mid-90s to the present time, but the levels of chronic malnutrition are still high with 36% of malnourished children found in Bangladesh. Stunting and micronutrient deficiencies such as anemia are also major malnutrition related health concerns for the adolescents. The prevalence of obesity is increasing in an alarming rate especially in the urban areas which increases the risk for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Realization of Bangladesh’s national development goals set in the Seventh Five Year Plan and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the 2030 Agenda will be hampered in absence of rigorous actions.

To address malnutrition collectively in Bangladesh, with especial focus on youth, ‘Nutrition Olympiad 2018’ will be held on Saturday, 21st April 2018 at the Bangabandhu International Convention Centre (BICC), Agargaon, Sher-E-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka as a kick-off event of the National Nutrition Week. The Nutrition Olympiad 2018 is the second episode of the annual competition organized for the youth and adolescents to showcase progress of the school Nutrition Clubs they belong to as well as upholding their knowledge, talent and potentials in improving dietary habits while addressing malnutrition in Bangladesh. This event will be organized jointly by the Bangladesh Institute of ICT in Development (BIID), Ministry of Food, and the Meeting the Undernutrition Challenge (MUCH)– a project implemented by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with financial assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the European Union (EU). SUCHANA–financially supported by the Department for International Development (DFID) and the EU, Global Improved Alliance for Nutrition (GAIN) and other organizations are supporting the event as the “strategic partners” and “partners”.

The theme of this year is “Nutrition and Empowerment of Youth for a Healthy Nation." This one-day event will organize a variety of entertaining and engaging activities like street play, food design competition, cooking competition and many more for the youth participants. In addition, this Olympiad will be a platform to bring voices of youth to the national policy development process and implementation.

Advocate Md. Qamrul Islam, MP, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Food and Mr. Zunaid Ahmed Palak, MP, Hon’ble State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Division have consented to grace the Inaugural Session and Closing session respectively as the Chief Guests. Some 500 youths, government officials and representatives from international and national organizations, civil society, private sector, academia, and media are expected to participate.

The first Nutrition Olympiad was organized in 2017 by BIID jointly with the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and INGENAES/USAID. The Meeting the Undernutrition Challenge (MUCH) Project, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division, Bangladesh Association of Software Information and Services (BASIS), University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB), Farm Fresh and other organizations also supported the event. Some 300 youths, government officials, international and national organizations, civil society, private sector and academia participated in the Nutrition Olympiad 2017. 

For more information, visit at http://www.nutritionolympiad.net/

The Bangladesh Institute of ICT in Development (BIID)

BIID, established as a private sector enterprise in 2008, is a distinct inclusive business initiative to support development and promotion of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based services. BIID’s inclusive approach ensures serving the poor in a sustainable way through a market-led approach. The distinction of BIID lies in clear identification of ICT as a cross-cutting development tool and in creating opportunities through continuous knowledge management, innovation and development. It is BIID's vision to become the market leader in ICT for Development (ICT4D) sector providing services to both public (Government and NGOs) and private sector. Leading through Innovation is BIID’s strategic objective.

BIID has been working actively in nutrition domain since 2017. As a part of BIID’s effort in Standing against malnutrition, it organized Nutrition Olympiad for the first time on March 7, 2017.

Meeting the Undernutrition Challenge (MUCH) Bangladesh

The Meeting the Undernutrition Challenge (MUCH) is a policy advisory project to strengthen the enabling environment for eradicating food insecurity and malnutrition in Bangladesh. Working together with the Ministry of Food, it has been implemented with technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and with financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the European Union (EU). MUCH has placed strong emphasis on the engagement of youth in improving diets and nutrition for a heathier and sustainable Bangladesh.