Published:  12:00 AM, 31 December 2016

Malnutrition hangs on hill districts

Malnutrition hangs on hill districts A Chakma mother and her sick child in Sajek of Chittagong Hill Tracts. -Photo Collected

Sajek tourist spot is one of the attractions of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). The picturesque natural beauty of Sajek Valley draws tourists. But the people of this area still remain neglected.  Most of them are suffering from malnutrition. Many of these malnourished people were seen during a visit to Sajek tourist spot.

On way back to Khagrachhari from Sajek tourist resort in Baghaichhari upazila of Rangamati district by a pickup van, a hill couple was seen along with their three kids. The children are aged four years, two years and one year. They have swollen bellies and anemic faces.

 It was apparent that the children are suffering from malnutrition. Their father Raju Tripura is also lean and thin. Their mother, who was sitting beside, with her youngest kid in her lap, has a pale face. She is anemic too.

This means that they all are suffering from malnutrition. Such mothers and children are very often seen in the CHT region. They are suffering from different diseases because of malnutrition. According to a statistics, 48 percent mothers and children in three CHT districts are  suffering from malnutrition.

Nutritionist M.A. Rifat gave an overall account of nutrition situation in  Khagrachhari district. He said the rate of chronically malnourished or stunted children among 0-5 age group is 35 percent. The rate of low-weight children (compared to their height) is 9.7 percent. The rate of low birth weight babies is 28.9 percent.

The rate of anemia among children aged 5 to 59 months is 51.6 percent while the rate is 38.4 percent among married women aged from 15 to 49 years.

The rate of feeding newborns colostrums within one hour of birth is 71.1 percent while the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for six months is 88.9 percent. The rate of low-weight adolescent girls is 11 percent. The nutrition situation in Khagrachhari could be termed as frustrating.

The situation in two other CHT districts - Rangamati and Bandarban - is almost the same. Notable that Bangladesh achieved remarkable success in reducing child mortality rate and improving birth control and maternal health, but it could not make expected progress in nutrition.

According to different studies, 65,000 children die every year in the country because of severe malnutrition. Five lakh children aged 5 years are suffering from malnutrition related diseases.

Their lives are at risk. A UNICEF report says that there is hardly any arrangement of medical treatment for these children. Let along the CHT districts, there is no facility of improved treatment for such children anywhere in the country apart from several hospitals in Dhaka.

-BSS




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