A4NH partner in tackling undernutrition, LANSA, just released a new policy brief titled, The other Asian enigma: Explaining the rapid reduction of undernutrition in Bangladesh. LANSA (Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia) is a research partnership of six organizations, led by M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, working together to find out how agriculture and agri-food systems can be better designed to improve nutrition.
The brief takes a closer look at impressive child growth and nutrition outcomes in Bangladesh, where pro-poor multisectoral policies have successfully addressed many – but not all – of the multiple constraints on child growth. By providing statistical analysis of child growth outcomes from national household surveys over the past two decades, the brief examines the country's impressive success in rapidly reducing child undernutrition during that time. The study found that two of the largest drivers of change in this case were rapid asset accumulation and large gains in parental education. Other notable drivers included improved access to antenatal and neonatal health services and large improvements in access to toilets.
The full brief is available at this link.
