Attachments
Introduction
Undernutrition among children under five is of great concern in Bangladesh. According to the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey [BDHS] 2017-18 report, 30.8% of children under the age of 5 are stunted, 8.4% are wasted [WHZ <-2] with 1.5 % severely wasted [WHZ <-3] and 21.9% are underweight, while Infant and Young Child Feeding practices are most often poor. Multiple initiatives are in place in the country to improve the situation, with health and nutrition services at the heart of public health concern.
Cox’s Bazar District is one of the highly disaster-prone district of Bangladesh, with the Teknaf and Ukhiya Upazilas [sub districts] among the 50 most socially deprived Upazilas [out of 509]. The communities in these two Upazilas face many hardships of extreme weather, cyclones, flooding and lack of livelihood. Lack of arable land and consequent dependence on markets for food in Teknaf and Ukhiya drive high levels of food insecurity and vulnerability to price fluctuations and food availability. The area has limited access to drinking water, particularly in remote rural areas, and only one-third of people have a drinking water source in their dwelling. This, combined with low access to improved sanitation facilities, has contributed to high levels of malnutrition