Dhaka, Bangladesh – On April 26, Honourable Minister of Food, Government of Bangladesh, Qamrul Islam launched Nutrition International’s `With Good Nutrition She’ll Grow Into It’ in collaboration with the Shornokishoree Network Foundation (SKNF) in Dhaka. This global campaign aims to raise awareness about the critical link between good nutrition and women and girls’ empowerment.

In Bangladesh, more than 40 per cent of women of reproductive age, including adolescent girls, suffer from anaemia[1]. This impacts their physical well-being, performance at work or school, and increases the possibility of complications during pregnancy.

“While we have made tremendous progress in improving maternal and child health, we need to consistently take care of the physical and mental development of our adolescents, especially girls, so that they remain healthy, achieve their dreams and contribute to the economic progress of our,” said Minister Islam.

With support from the Government of Canada, Nutrition International developed the With Good Nutrition She’ll Grow Into It campaign to highlight the important role nutrition plays in unlocking a girl’s potential and helping her to grow, learn, earn and lead.

“Too many girls are denied equal opportunity for growth and development, restricting their growth. Adolescent girls have to be our top priority, everywhere, in order for us to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. We hope that through the With Good Nutrition She’ll Grow Into It or পুষ্টি আমায় করবে সফল campaign, we will be able to increase momentum for improved nutrition for adolescents in Bangladesh,” said Mr. Zaki Hasan, Country Director, Nutrition International, Bangladesh.

Nutrition International has been supporting government efforts to reduce malnutrition in Bangladesh for two decades. Last year, Nutrition International launched the ‘Right Start Initiative’ in Bangladesh to improve nutrition for women, adolescent girls and newborns in the country through a $CAN 3.2M (208M Bangladeshi Taka) investment over five years to 2020.

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This video on Bangladesh TV network `Channel I’ documents the launch of Nutrition International’s global campaign `She’ll Grow Into It’ in partnership with Shorno Kishoree Network Foundation (SKNF) in Dhaka on April 26, 2018. The campaign was launched in the presence of Government of Bangladesh’s Minister of Food Qamrul Islam, Benoit Préfontaine, High Commissioner of Canada in Bangladesh, Head of DFID in Bangladesh Jane Edmundson, Sobrab Hossain, Secretary, Ministry of Education and Dr Shanawaz, Director General, Bangladesh National Nutrition Council. Women professional from the fields of journalism, aviation, police, medicine and law also participated and spoke on what it took them to achieve their dreams.

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Aired on Bangladesh TV network `Channel I’, this video is about a workshop organized by Nutrition International in partnership with Shorno Kishoree Network Foundation with adolescent girls from all over the country to discuss the barriers they face in accessing good nutrition. At this workshop, held on April 26, 2018 in Dhaka,  girls discussed a number of social, economic, psychological and financial barriers they face and also ways to overcome these barriers. This workshop was a part of the launch of `She’ll Grow Into It’ campaign of Nutrition International that highlights the importance of good nutrition for girls so that they can grow, earn and lead. The main attendees include 75 adolescent girls, Nutrition International staff, journalists, SKNF team members and Minister of Social Welfare Rashed Khan Menon.

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Seventy five adolescent girls from different districts of Bangladesh also participated in the launch of the campaign, which was held during National Nutrition Week and coincided with the day marked for highlighting adolescent nutrition. It was jointly organized by Nutrition International in partnership with SKNF, the largest network of adolescent girls and boys in Bangladesh. The SKNF is in charge of adolescent clubs set up by the government’s Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs in every secondary school and has around 20 million adolescent girls and an additional 20 million adolescent boys linked to their network.

 “We believe in an adolescent-led movement of Shornokishoree Network Foundation with 20 million boys and 20 million girls for improving health, nutrition and empowerment in Bangladesh,” said SKNF chairperson Farzana Brownia.

More broadly, through its campaign, Nutrition International will support the Government of Bangladesh’s National Adolescent Nutrition Campaign ‘Icchai shokti’ ‘ইচ্ছাই শক্তি’-  কৈশোর পুষ্টি নিশ্চিত করি, কৈশোর বান্ধব বাংলাদেশ গড়ি” ( “Will is Indeed Power- Let us ensure adolescent nutrition and build an adolescent friendly Bangladesh’’), working closely with adolescent clubs established across all schools to educate and motivate adolescents.

“Improving the nutrition of girls is key to empowering them and it also benefits the entire community. Good nutrition is the foundation of growth: a girl who is healthy is in a position to take control of her own life and inspire others to do the same. That is why Canada is proud to partner with this campaign to help millions of girls around the world, to reach their full potential and become powerful agents of change”, said Mr. Benoit Préfontaine, High Commissioner of Canada in Bangladesh.

Jane Edmundson, head of the United Kingdom’s Department of International Development (DFID) in Bangladesh, said nutrition was an area of focus and DFID looked forward to working with key partners in Bangladesh to improve nutrition for adolescents.

Special guests in attendance also included Mr Sobrab Hossain, Secretary, Ministry of Education, Dr Shanawaz, Director General, Bangladesh National Nutrition Council and women professional from the fields of journalism, aviation, police, medicine and law who spoke to adolescents on what it took them to achieve their dreams.

Earlier in the day, the adolescent girls participated in a workshop on nutrition, where they discussed the barriers to accessing good nutrition and the role of adolescents in overcoming them. Honourable Minister of Social Welfare, Government of Bangladesh, Rashed Khan Menon presided over this workshop and encouraged the girls to bring about greater awareness on nutrition and practice healthy food habits and become peer counsellors for other girls in their community.

[1] BDHS 2011

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