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 a special focus on youth, ‘Nutrition Olympiad 2018’ was 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 was jointly organized 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”.

Addressing the Inaugural Session as the Chief guest, Advocate Md. Qamrul Islam, MP, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Food, said, ‘Food security is ensured in Bangladesh. Now the government’s plan is to ensure safe and nutrient food for the people’. Mr. Qamrul said improved maternal healthcare and education as well as the availability of drinking water helped to reduce child mortality; however, Bangladesh still is lagged behind World Health Organization’s child nutrition standard. To address such challenges, the Ministry of Food has developed the second Country Investment Plan and is going to develop the National Food and Nutrition Security Policy. The Food Minister appreciated the involvement of hundreds of young people in addressing country’s nutrition challenges through the formation of Nutrition Clubs.

Mr. Naoki Minamiguchi, Chief Technical Advisor, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation, said that the event is timely as this will be a kick-off event for the National Nutrition Week. It is much needed as Bangladesh celebrated the graduation from the Least Developed Countries (LDC) status last month, yet nutrition remains on the top of development agenda as a key to achieving Zero Hunger.

In the closing session, Hon’ble State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Division Mr. Zunaid Ahmed Palak, MP, said that the Government of Bangladesh is committed to realize Digital Bangladesh campaign and become a middle-income country by 2021, leveraging ICT. Mr. Palak said voice of youth should be reflected in the policy making and strategy formulation, and more innovative digital solutions are required to address nutrition challenges.  

The theme of this year was “Nutrition and Empowerment of Youth for a Healthy Nation." This one-day event had a variety of entertaining and engaging activities like street play, food designs competition, cooking competition, and many more for the youth participants as well as stalls set up for demonstrating nutrition activities by Nutrition Clubs and other organizations. In addition, this Olympiad was a platform to bring voices of youth to the national policy development process and implementation and to have direct dialogues between youth and the government, practitioners, academia, and private sector. All the sessions were broadcasted via social media widely. Some 900 young participants from the capital city Dhaka and other districts, government officials, representatives from international and national organizations, civil society, private sector, academia, and media have participated in the Nutrition Olympiad.

The first Nutrition Olympiad was first organized in 2017 by BIID in collaboration 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.

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.

Meeting the Undernutrition Challenge (MUCH)

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 FAO and with financial support from USAID and the EU. MUCH has placed strong emphasis on the engagement of youth in improving diets and nutrition for a heathier and sustainable Bangladesh.