A new survey finds that Bangladesh has made great strides in several areas related to health and nutrition with a massive decline in child malnutrition.
Level of stunting, which is known as chronic malnutrition, fell to 28 percent in 2019 from 42 percent in 2013, according to the survey report released on Monday in the capital.
The progress is regarded as the most positive developments of all the health indicators in the findings of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019, conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and UNICEF.
The study also finds that moderate and severe underweight prevalence has dropped to 22.6 percent in 2019 from 31.9 percent in 2012-13.
The survey data were collected between 19 January and 1 June 2019 from 61,242 randomly selected households.
The report provides in-depth and statistically reliable data from across all 64 districts, UNICEF said.
Saurendra Nath Chakrabharty, Secretary to Statistics and Informatics Division, at the launching ceremony said the new set of data available from this round of MICS continues “to promote a data-driven public discourse and policymaking for the betterment of the children in Bangladesh as a middle-income country”.
“The findings of MICS 2019 will help us identify those who are left behind in the country’s development process so that we can take action and reach the children whose needs are the greatest,” said Alain Balandi Domsam, Officer-in-Charge Representative at UNICEF Bangladesh.
He said it is critical to break gender stereotypes and transform social norms that perpetuate gender inequality.
“Bangladesh cannot wait to invest in its children and youth if it is to reap the benefits of the demographic dividend. The country has only 11 years to go before this unique window of opportunity closes. It is essential to increase investment to strengthen systems and to build structures and capacities to accelerate the SDGs in Bangladesh,” he added.
The study report says the malnutrition situation improvement can be explained with the better practice of infant and young child feeding.
The share of children who were ever breastfed is now very high -- 98.5 percent while the share of children who were breastfed within one hour of birth is still somewhat low -- 46.6 percent, it adds.
The study finds that almost all households -- 98.5 percent -- have an improved source of drinking water and that 43 percent of the population lives in areas where there is an improved drinking water source located on the premises.
The report says about 84.6 percent of households in Bangladesh have access to improved sanitation. In terms of hygiene practices, knowledge is high in Bangladesh, but the practice of hand washing at key moments remains very low, it adds.
Figures also show that all child mortality rates -- neonatal, post-neonatal, infant and under-five -- have had a downward trend in Bangladesh over the last 30 years.
Other welcome findings include an increase in the net attendance of children in primary and secondary schools and an increase in birth registration, which ensures a child’s right to an identity.
At the same time, more rapid ‘progress with quality’ is required for Bangladesh to continue as a thriving middle-income country, according to UNICEF.
The report says that issues such as the quality of education and drinking water, the battle against child marriage and violence against children continue to be highly prevalent protection issues.
Violent disciplining of children also remains alarmingly high -- nine out of 10 children under 15 are subjected to some form of violent disciplining by their parents or other caregivers, it says.
A great deal has been achieved to improve children’s lives between the 2012-2013 MICS and the 2019 MICS. However, more needs to be done quickly if Bangladesh is to achieve its ambitious UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, according to UNICEF.
OTHER MAJOR FINDINGS AT A GLANCE:
The average household size is 4.3. About 35.6 percent of the population are under the age of 18 (MICS, 2019). The Total fertility rate (2.3) and adolescent birth rate (83) remained the same over the past 5 years.
The share of children aged 36 to 59 months who attended early childhood education is small -- 18.9 per cent -- with a slight increase from the 13.4 per cent registered 2012-13 (MICS).
The net attendance rate in primary school is high at 85.9 per cent, somewhat higher compared to the previous MICS round (2012-13) where it was 73.2 per cent.
Nevertheless, 13.1 per cent of adolescents are out of lower secondary school. The dropout rate is high particularly among boys, where about one in five (18.1 per cent) children is out of lower secondary education.
The proportion of children in Bangladesh under five years of age whose births are reported has risen sharply to 56 per cent in recent years.
Violent disciplining of children remains alarmingly high. 88.8 per cent of children aged 1-14 years have been subject to some form of violent disciplining by their caregivers.
Around 6.8 per cent of children aged 5-17 are involved in child labour. It is higher among children not attending school (18.9 per cent) compared to those attending school (4.4 per cent).
Child marriage remains widely accepted with 51.4 per cent of women aged 20-24 years first married before their 18th birthday, and 15.5 per cent of women first married before their 15th birthday. The share of children aged 2-17 years with functional difficulty in at least one identified domain is 7.3 per cent.
