'Our Vision is to make Bangladesh Free from Malnutrition'

Dr Md. Afsarul Ameen, the Honourable Minister of the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, Government of Bangladesh (center) visits a GAIN-supported school feeding program in India.

Dr Md. Afsarul Ameen, the Honorable Minister from the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, Government of Bangladesh, recently participated in a GAIN-organized visit to showcase successful school feeding programs in India. With technical assistance from GAIN and financial assistance from Dubai Cares, he is now keen to adapt and contextualize the scheme for school children in Bangladesh. Dr Ameen spoke to GAIN following his visit to the School Nutrition Program in India.

GAIN: What did you learn from the India school feeding program that you will apply to the school feeding program in Bangladesh?
Dr Ameen : Accessing quality primary education remains an important challenge in Bangladesh, and the school dropout rate is increasing. A recent study has also shown that about 40 percent of pupils in our country are attending school with empty stomachs; this is further compounded by malnutrition and micro nutrient deficiency among the children.
In India, we learnt from parents and teachers that enrolment has been increased, the dropout rate has been minimized and retention rate have been stabled after introduction of school feeding and nutrition program. We were also told by teachers and parents that the pupils become more attentive in the class and their examination fail rate has been considerably reduced.
The central kitchen models that have been operational in India with GAIN support has been quite exemplary and can be replicated in Bangladesh with appropriate contextualization and modification.

GAIN: How do you envision the partnership with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition?
Dr Ameen: The Government of Bangladesh is committed to children’s access to quality education and we have a vision to make our country free from malnutrition. We also need many more models and mechanisms to address the chronic issue of dropout.
We are eagerly looking forward to working with GAIN as a credible and trusted partner to work with us to provide long term solutions to the problems. I am highly impressed with the professionalism and commitment of GAIN leadership in Bangladesh.

GAIN: What would be the next step?
Dr Ameen:The Indian good practices are the good lesson for us. In my understanding, it is a good model, but I am in favor of larger involvement of community in the whole process. I want to highlight that it has to be a feeding program with dignity and the model could be replicated in our system and culture.
My idea is to involve mothers of the kids in the process, and they will be involved in distribution and menu selection. This, I believe, will give the mothers ownership and participation.