The project titled 'Meeting the Undernutrition Challenge' (MUCH) has over the last eight years has greatly advanced food and nutrition security and helped to attract USD 14 billion of investment to Bangladesh.
The project, implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), has supported the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit (FPMU) of the Ministry of Food to develop a policy framework and action plans to implement these policies, as well as investment strategies that have secured record funding.
A closing workshop for the project was held on Monday at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel Dhaka.
Dr. Shamsul Alam, State Minister, Ministry of Planning, was chief guest at the event.
FAO Representative Robert D. Simpson remarked that it was now time to implement the nutrition policies and guidelines that the project had helped to develop.
\He also highlighted the importance of a food systems approach which is based on the interconnectedness of food production, processing, transport, and consumption — recognizing issues such as sustainability, waste, and the impact of nutrition on people’s health.
He said: “Now that Bangladesh has the policies and technical guidelines in place to improve people’s nutrition, the focus needs to shift to implementing these policies through a multi-ministry, food systems approach.
We need to help the poorest eat better, ensure healthy options for a large and growing urban population, and be attentive to new challenges such as obesity and food waste, as the country grows wealthier.”
He added: “The Ministry of Food, FPMU, and the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, are now well positioned to focus on identified priorities and to transition to delivering scaled-up policy implementation at pace.”
MUCH was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the European Union (EU). Charles Whiteley, Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Bangladesh, who was guest of honour, praised the project for helping to achieve Bangladesh’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relating to food and nutrition security.
He said: “I would like to express my appreciation for the work undertaken by FAO under the MUCH project with support from EU. The outputs of the project contributing to the government’s aim to achieve the SDG goals on food and nutrition security for Bangladesh’s people are commendable.
The EU acknowledges the valuable work done under MUCH to develop the appropriate policies, strategies, and investment programmes to accelerate food and nutrition security in the country. ”
Bhaskar Goswami, who has led the project, said: “We have come a long way from where we were in 2015 when the project started.
In essence, today’s event marks the culmination of years of steady policy progress, refinement, and consistent efforts to build
capacity.”
