The New Nation - Internet Edition

Girl-child easy victim of malnutrition

Md. Sazedul Islam

Nadia, aged 10, was admitted to Paediatrics department of Sk. Mujib Medical University (SMMU), Dhaka, with respiratory diseases, dehydration and anaemia.

The weak baby, weighing only three kgs, could not sit or move properly worrying her parents who brought her to SMMU seeing her deteriorating health condition.

Physicians at SMMU diagnosed the baby underweight, as they said that weight of the baby should be between 10-12 kgs at her age.

Physicians told her parents that she fell sick due to lack of nutritious foods. Physicians attributed her health problems to lack of awareness of Nadia's parents who failed to take care of her health despite their good financial condition and health facilities available in their Gazipur home district.

The baby recovered her health after treatment at SMMU.

The story of the child is not an isolated incident. In Bangladesh, there are many children inflicted by malnutrition.

Physicians at SMMU said children should be provided with other natural foods during their illness. If it not done, children may become more malnourished. Parents should also maintain hygiene at their house to prevent malnutrition.

These problems are costing the country substantially in terms of premature deaths, permanent disabilities and loss in productivity and in income. If the children suffer from diseases caused by malnutrition during the early period of life, irreparable losses are caused to their brain and body hampering the cognitive and physical development.

Poor nutrition in the first two years can slow a child's physical and mental development for the rest of her/his life. In order to grow and stay healthy, they need a variety of nutritious foods such as meat, fish, pulses, grains, eggs, fruits, vegetables and breast-milk.

For the country as a whole, physical retardation in one form or another were found to have affected nearly 74 per cent of children in the age-group 6-71 months. The majority adolescents of Bangladesh were also found to be suffering from physical retardation, said a report of Food and Nutrition Science Institute of Dhaka University.

Nutrition deprived children lose disease prevention capacity, hence, they are affected by various disease like night blindness, blindness, skin disease, marasmus, kwashiorkor, beriberi, ulcerative condition at the junction place of both the upper and lower lips, scurvy and anaemia.

So, nutrition scientists said intake of nutritious foods is essential for all to keep the body healthy, disease free and strong.

According to Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN), Mahakhali, Dhaka, malnutrition problem in Bangladesh is a recognized serious problem that mostly affected women and children creating a negative impact on public health. About 87 percent under five children are mainly hit by malnutrition caused by lack of protein and energy. Among them, two-third of them dies due to malnutrition, said the Institute.

In our country, 45 percent children are born with weight less than natural weight, hence they become physically and mentally handicapped for whole of their life, said a report of IPHN. About 70 percent under five children and women suffer from malnutrition caused by aneamia that can be solved by giving the children with human milk. Intake of iron rich foods, Vitamin C riches vegetables and fruits and change of food habit can solve the anaemia problem.

IPHN said, malnutrition caused by protein and energy deficiency, which is called Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM), is mainly seen among our children. Hence, they are affected by marasmas and koashirkar diseases. It said about 93 percent children in our country suffer from any malnutrition and

Prof. YH Farida Khatun, former Line Director, Micronutrient and Director, Institute of Public Health Nutrition, Mahakhali, said about 5,000 children of our country go blind and consequently die due to Vitamin 'A' deficiency every year. Those who survive turn blind making them burden on the society and their family, said Farida.

Deep green vegetables and coloured fruits, such as ripe papaya, mango and jackfruits, can meet the Vitamin A deficiency, said Farida. Providing colostrum to the children and complementary Vitamin A riches foods along with breast milk after six months of age can also meet the Vitamin A deficiency, said Farida.

Children need Vitamin A to resist illness and prevent visual impairments. Vitamin A can be found in many fruits and vegetables, oils, eggs, dairy products, fortified foods, breast-milk or vitamin A supplements. Vitamin A can be found in liver, eggs, dairy products, fatty fish liver oil, ripe mangoes and papayas, yellow sweet potatoes, dark green leafy vegetables and carrots.

A mother must be provided with nutritious foods and medical check-up during pregnancy if we want a healthy child from her.

Dr Ainun Afroze, Professor of Nutrition and Gastroenterology Division of SMMU, said rice, atta, suji, potato, fish, meat, eggs, pulse, simer bitchi, oil, makhon, ghee, vegetables, fruits, mineral water are needed to solve the nutrition problem.

The problems of malnutrition will be reduced to minimum within a short span of time through massive campaign approach by the government NGO along with the press and mass media.

(PID-UNICEF Feature)

Creating alternative earning scope for women

Sabiha Mahmud Sumi

Classes and castes, all part of the classification we tend to make when we think about people in our own societies. Classifications, justifications belonging to the prejudice views we have among us all. Segregation of the poor and the rich is a method we all use to categorize people. With this on our shoulders, we still move along with the globalization in this world. Many in the upper class don't need too much to reach an even higher position in society but some who don't even have the minimum power to survive are the ones who pay the price of life. Poverty-stricken, deprived and hungry for some money, the destitute natives in need for a start up fund for career life which will provide their families with constant financial support. Some people take that extra mile to make that difference which will help equalize the world to some extent. In a more clear statement, NGO's such as Bandhan and ASA help the underprivileged improve quality of life. Not much do they gain by this humble effort but satisfaction within.

Bandhan, an NGO changing the lives of many people out there. Situated in the state of West Bengal in India and with the high population of impoverished people, this NGO has made its way to the top by conveying the message "hope for the poor". Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, man in possession of Bandhan, has worked his way up to the top by lending his hand out to all the poor people out in the streets of West Bengal. His work, this standardized institute that is of great assistance to the needy, has changed lives of numerous people in several parts of West Bengal. Such lives have taken this chance to anchor their source of income. One such woman, Joya Dutta who has taken good advantage of this opportunity provided by Bandhan to improve her career and to upgrade her family to the next level.

Born and brought up in Kolkata, Joya Dutta's family consists of eight siblings, three sisters and five brothers. Considering the time period back then, their family was under good conditions and impressions according to Mrs. Dutta. Their family was involved in a small business of producing and distributing incense stick products. As embossed in their culture, marriage played a huge role in their community, leaving education with a low priority. This being the main reason of her early marriage and her education which was stopped when she was in 7th grade. Born in 1971 and married at the age of 16 she has managed to live a decent life. Now at the age of 36 she lives in her in-laws house with her husband and three kids. One daughter has already been married and has moved out and into her husband's place. While the other daughter has studied till grade 8 and is currently living with them. The youngest child being the son is involved in their family business. Her career being the garment factory she owns. She produces pillow covers, bed covers and the design work on many t-shirt products. With the assistance of Bandhan she has been able to expand her business by hiring workers and purchasing a new sewing machine. She has become a member and has worked up to four fairly large loans. Her net income amount to around Rs. 2000 per month. The family is fully dependent on the wages therefore making it hard for her to run the full family on this money alone. Not only is the family dependent on the income but even the workers at the factory. In all this, Bandhan does play a major role in their family's career. They have been supported in real good means by this organization. With all the money they have been able to buy two new sewing machines and one new lock machine for their factory. Moreover, Bandhan has also given them a chance to organize their lives in such a way that they are now able to dream of a bigger goal. First mission being the expansion of this small business. And second being the purchase of advanced machines so they are able to make more exquisite items.

This being one such example out of the many other lives that are changing and yet to be changed by the aid Bandhan is providing. Their expansion has become a crucial factor, a factor that is reaching superior levels in the societies in India. Bandhan came on track in July 2002, with much support from the president of ASA (an NGO in Dhaka, Bangladesh). Small groups in West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Bihar, Jharkhand and even Orissa have been developing throughout these for few years, leaving Bandhan with the statistics of 467 branches in 6 states; 2,420 staff members; 1,788 credit officers; 37,827 groups; 862,243 members; and 780,755 borrowers in total as of October 2007. By this time, 30 districts have been covered in total by Bandhan. Five whole years of such tremendous performance, it's all a dream come true for Mr. Chandra Shekhar Ghosh. His idea for this institution being a realization of what life is all about and how we can lend a hand to the ones who aren't able to live life comfortably because of the financial issues. Their main goal being just "an access to the poor" since the financial demand is so high that it is a necessity for people to earn money to support a living. And Bandhan is the microfinance organization which provides this access to money in a very easy and simple way.

Success and achievement, the clear rewards of the level of performance they are working at. This is a result of the sufficient training attained by every one of the staff members and of course the ability to be so aware of each of their roles. Clearly set out and mapped are all their goals and future plans of expansion which has helped them to move faster. Some of these goals are not to only do with the expansion of this association but to be an ideal example of those around. Their ambition is to reach 2 million clients by the end of March 2008 and in around five year's time 5 million clients. With this hope and aspiration they are moving towards their future. With the rate of success at this level you can find a clear path as to where Bandhan is heading towards. As Mr. Chandra Shekhar Ghosh states, "our organization is all about creating an ideal image of introducing positive changes in the financial empowerment of the poor".

[The writer is a Bangladeshi student of grade 10 at Kodaikanal International School in Tamil Nadu, India]

Violence against women

Nanette Braun

UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict unites the work of 12 UN entities with the aim of amplifying and better coordinating the work of the UN System in response to sexual violence during and after conflict. It seeks to galvanize global concern about rape as a weapon of war and speed up the response of the peacekeeping, humanitarian and development communities to violations of women's rights in conflict and post-conflict settings. UN Action is supporting a global advocacy effort to "stop rape now" - working alongside bodies such as the Security Council to tackle sexual violence as a threat to international peace and security; intensifying the UN System's efforts to prevent and respond to sexual violence by providing strategic and technical support to UN Country Teams and peacekeeping operations in countries in conflict; and building a knowledge hub mapping good practice and effective responses to the needs of survivors and their communities.

United nations children's fund: The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is committed to the protection, empowerment and promotion of women and girls and recognizes that women's rights are fundamental for the fulfillment of children's rights. UNICEF works on genderbased violence through prevention, protection, and recovery and reintegration. Recent activities include the campaign "Stop Raping Our Greatest Resource, Power to the Women and Girls of Democratic Republic of Congo", which called for an end to impunity for sexual violence and full implementation of laws that protect and empower women. Working in areas of armed conflict where girls and women are especially vulnerable to sexual violence, activities include capacity building, with emphasis on the training of police, judiciary and teachers, as well as women and girls themselves.

UNICEF works for the elimination of all harmful traditional practices, including female genital mutilation/ cutting and early marriages, supporting community-based interventions and working to institute change through legislative reform. It provides support for the implementation of all of the recommendations of the Secretary-General's Study of Violence against Children, with special focus on gender-based violence, and has produced the publication From Invisible to Indivisible: Promoting and Protecting the Right of the Girl Child to Be Free from Violence.

United nations development programme: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supports governments in the development of national strategies and development plans which are in line with international commitments on eliminating violence against women. Through multi-sectoral, targeted interventions, UNDP supports the capacity-building of policy makers, law enforcement agencies and communities to end gender-based violence. UNDP works on development of databases and sex-disaggregated data, so that there is necessary empirical evidence on gender-based violence to formulate accurate and targeted policy interventions.

UNDP invests in counseling and legal services, mediation and rehabilitation, as well as micro-enterprise activities for survivors of gender-based violence. It also focuses on engaging men and boys as partners in the prevention of gender-based violence.

By working with UN agencies and groups such as faith-based organizations, traditional leaders, civil society and the media, UNDP contributes to galvanizing action for ending gender-based violence. Recent activities include the Human Development and Violence against Women study in Mexico, the joint Asia-Pacific regional programme of the UN System and its partners called "Partners for Prevention: Working with Boys and Men to Prevent Gender-Based Violence", and the capacity-building project in Albania titled "Violence against women - no longer a family issue".

United nations development fund for women : The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and strategies to foster women's empowerment and gender equality. UNIFEM has implemented various campaigns to fight violence against women, including the "Say NO to Violence Against Women" campaign.

This internet-based advocacy campaign invites people to add their names to a virtual book as an expression of public support and call to action. The UN Foundation is donating $1 for each of the first 100,000 signatures. The campaign runs through 25 November 2008, the International Day to End Violence against Women, when signatures will be handed over to the Secretary-General. Plans for 2008 include an International Women's Day event in early March where Avon Global Ambassador Reese Witherspoon, UNIFEM and Avon will announce a partnership to advance women's empowerment and rights, and launch the Avon Empowerment Fund. This new fund will contribute to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, managed by UNIFEM, for initiatives working on the implementation of laws and policies.