Put nutrition at the heart of healthcare

Experts at a roundtable yesterday called for placing nutrition at the core of the health, climate, and development agendas of Bangladesh and for adopting a multi-sectoral approach to address malnutrition.

They said tackling malnutrition is critical to combating infectious diseases and building a resilient, self-reliant nation.

The discussion, titled “Strengthening Health Systems: Nutrition as a Cross-Cutting Solution for Climate, Malaria, TB, and Other Infectious Diseases”, was organised by The Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN), Daily Samakal, and Max Foundation in the capital, marking National Nutrition Week 2026.

Speaking as chief guest, Bangladesh National Nutrition Council Director General Dr Md Rizwanur Rahman said despite significant progress in nutrition status, malnutrition remains a pressing issue.

Highlighting ongoing initiatives, he said the government is updating the National Nutrition Policy and working to strengthen multi-sectoral coordination, including efforts to develop a real-time, integrated information system.

IPHN Director Dr Mohammed Eunus Ali emphasised activating nutrition-related committees at the national, district and upazila levels.

The IPHN chief focused on resource constraints in efforts to address nutrition and urged the allocation of a greater amount of funding for better nutrition services.

Delivering the keynote, Dr AFM Iqbal Kabir underscored that nutrition is not a standalone sector but a “system-wide solution” linking health systems, climate resilience, and infectious disease control.

Max Foundation Country Director Dr Tariqul Islam said the private sector needs to be engaged in efforts to address malnutrition because Bangladesh cannot depend only on grants for its nutrition programmes when the donors are transitioning from aid to trade-based strategy.

The roundtable was chaired by Daily Samakal Editor Shahed Mohammad Ali and moderated by Associate Editor Sheikh Rokon.