Yunga-UN

Bangladesh

Funded by the USAID and the EU in partnership with the Ministry of Food and the BIID Foundation, the FAO Meeting the Undernutrition Challenge (MUCH) project in Bangladesh initiated the Nutrition Challenge Badge (NCB) for Bangladesh in March 2019. A national NCB Manual and an Activity Book have since been developed based on the global challenge badge manual. An e-learning platform for the NCB is also currently under development.

On 7-8 July, an “Orientation Workshop on NCB for Bangladesh” was organized for 25 Master Trainers who will support youth and adolescents in the field for undertaking NCB activities. These Master Trainers include school teachers, Nutrition Club members, government officials, and Scout leaders from 15 government and private high schools, Department of Agriculture Extension of the Ministry of Agriculture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh College of Home Economics, Bangladesh Institute of Research and Training on Applied Nutrition (BIRTAN), and the Bangladesh Scout. Guided by the Master Trainers, some 300 youth and adolescents in various districts will be enrolled in the NCB activities aiming to improve their knowledge on nutrition, strengthen youth network, and further engage them in food and nutrition security policy dialogues with emphasis on the SDG2 Zero Hunger and the forthcoming National Food and Nutrition Security Policy of Bangladesh.

One of the Master Trainer said, “Implementation of the Nutrition Challenge Badge can bring revolutionary changes in our area”. This comment encouraged and allowed the workshop organizers to better understand the interest of the Trainers and how they found NCB valuable for their students as well as for the larger community. The workshop was facilitated by experts and resource persons from MUCH, BIID Foundation, Ministry of Food, Dhaka University, IFPRI, WHO, and BIRTAN.

Launching of the nutrition challenge badge: www.fao.org/bangladesh/news/detail-events/en/c/1253806/