Bangladesh: Civil Society Alliance for SUN Holds Seminar on Exploring Opportunities for Scaling Up Nutrition

The Civil Society Alliance for Scaling Up Nutrition, Bangladesh, organised a seminar on exploring the opportunities for scaling up nutrition in Bangladesh on Tuesday 4th June just days before the 8th June “Nutrition for Growth: Beating Hunger through Business and Science” Summit in London.

The event was used to advocate to policymakers to incorporate nutritional components in interventions and programmes – especially relating to agriculture, education and health. At the event, CSA representatives distributed symbolic spinning flowers to the participants who wrote nutritional messages in the paper flowers and planted them. The event attracted some good media coverage, as can be seen here.

Honourable State Minister for Women and Children Affairs – Ms Meher Afroze Chumki – attended the event, and said: “Women and children are a majority population group and covering two third of country’s population. It is important that their rights to health nutrition and education and social safety are ensured for them to achieve the over all country’s development. If neglected we will miss survival and development of a huge population and the nation.”

She also spoke very positively about the SUN Movement as an opportunity to place nutrition high on the political agenda and to ensure government ownership and leadership to take movement forward.

The Civil Society platform for Nutrition in Bangladesh was established in March 2011 at the beginning of the SUN Movement. Following a democratic process, an Executive Committee was elected and CSA for SUN in Bangladesh was formed and launched last year, nearly two years after the global SUN Movement to support the national effort to scale up nutrition. It has recently succeeded in setting up a new website, which can be found at www.suncsa.org.

Global Day of Action

In the run up to the Nutrition for Growth: Beating Hunger through Business and Science meeting on the 8th June, SUN Civil Society Alliances have take part in campaign actions around the world.

These actions highlighted to political leaders the importance of investing in nutrition, and were part of efforts happening all around the world as part of the Global Day of Action,

Scaling up Nutrition Civil Society Alliances led campaign efforts in Bangladesh, Ghana, Nepal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia – holding round tables with politicians, public rallies, concerts and debates – all with the aim of asking their own national governments to do what’s necessary to tackle hunger and malnutrition. READ MORE ▶