Resource information
The objective of this study is to
demonstrate how the interaction between sectors can be
improved to increase the effectiveness of sectoral
interventions, and how the interventions in the agricultural
sector and microfinance can be used to improve nutritional
outcomes. The study will examine what has been done to
improve nutrition through interventions in the agriculture
sector and microcredit programmes in Bangladesh and around
the world, how they were implemented and to the extent
possible, what the impact of those interventions was. The
populations of primary concern for this study are infants,
children and women of childbearing age, the group that is
the target of many of the millennium development goals. The
study will also pay special attention to the extent to which
programmes and policies are successful at reaching poor and
vulnerable groups in society and thus, reduce inequalities
in nutrition. The introduction provides the background and
rationale for this work. Chapter two assesses the status of
malnutrition in Bangladesh, provides a brief history of
policies and programmes to address malnutrition in the
country and lays out the case for a multi-sectoral response
to malnutrition. Chapter three reviews the potential role of
interventions in the agriculture sector, including existing
evidence on the impact of such interventions and
institutional and other challenges to enhancing the impact.
Chapter four provides a similar review of the role of
microcredit programmes in improving nutrition outcomes.
Recommendations on using multi-sectoral approaches to
improve nutrition in Bangladesh are the subject of chapter five.
