Golam Rasul
Research interest that include agriculture, rural development, natural resource management, food security, poverty alleviation, regional cooperation, food, water, energy nexus and sustainable development in South and Southeast Asia region.
Address: Bangladesh
Address: Bangladesh
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proportion of the population. The challenges and issues of nutrition security in mountain areas are different to
those in the plains, and need special attention from governments. We examine the status of nutrition security in
the mountain areas of the HKH countries and identify the key issues and challenges, and the potential role of
Himalayan traditional crops in addressing these challenges. Based on our findings, we suggest an integrated
approach towards achieving nutrition security in the mountain areas of the HKH region.
The study found that the prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight in children under five in some mountain
areas such as Meghalaya in India, the western mountains and far-western hills of Nepal, Balochistan province in
Pakistan, the eastern region of Afghanistan, and Chin state in Myanmar, is very high compared to the national
average in the respective countries. Children and women are affected most. Poor nutrition leaves children
underweight, weakened, and susceptible to infection, and ultimately stunted and deprived of cognitive and learning
capacity. Any intervention should have a special focus on the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, at the peak of
their vulnerability. Women play a significant role in the nutritional outcome of their children and other household
members and should be empowered to make favourable decisions that help improve the nutritional status of the
family.
There are several causes of undernutrition and malnutrition in the HKH region and an integrated approach is
needed to tackle the issues. Malnutrition is a multidimensional problem that demands a multisectoral approach,
but nutrition interventions often work in isolation and fail to include the agricultural, social, cultural, economic,
and public health dimensions. Policies should recognize that nutrition issues are cross-cutting; nutrition needs to
be integrated into all development processes and targeted nutrition programmes should be combined with poverty
alleviation programmes. The study proposes an integrated framework to improve nutrition in the HKH region
effectively. The key elements are as follows; it is hoped that they will stimulate discussion on future action:
Key Elements of the Proposed Integrated Framework for Improving
Nutritional Status
Create an enabling policy environment
• Mainstream nutrition aspects across sectors: increase policy coherence by integrating nutrition security into
development policies and programmes and aligning these with nutrition goals. Prioritize nutritionally high-risk
areas, communities, households, and individuals such as children, pregnant women, lactating mothers.
• Consider introducing regulations to minimize the promotion of less-healthy foods and beverages, particularly
sugar-sweetened high calorie beverages and nutrient-poor fast foods.
Leverage agriculture for nutrition and health
• Incorporate nutritional aspects into agricultural policies and programmes.
• Intensify research on the biofortification of staple foods for the poor and on product diversification through
processing and value addition.
• Incorporate explicit nutritional objectives and indicators into agricultural investments.
• Promote crop diversity and conservation of agrobiodiversity, especially of nutrition-rich traditional crops, and
rejuvenate local food production systems.
• Foster the adoption of biofortified local crop varieties by smallholders
vi
Create economic opportunities for small scale farmers and the rural poor
• Foster income generation for small-scale farmers by expanding financial and technical assistance and improving
the infrastructure and institutional setting for processing and marketing of agricultural produce and value-added
products.
• Increase economic efficiency by reducing food loss during processing, storage, and distribution of agricultural
produce. Improve legislation around retail systems to reduce wastage at the retail and consumption levels.
Increase rural non-farm economic opportunities by creating and strengthening institutional mechanism to
create job opportunities in foods processing, manufacturing and the service industry, with special consideration
of youth.
Empower women, create and spread knowledge and awareness
• Empower women by improving their knowledge, control of resources, and bargaining power within the
household to enable them to make good decisions on matters related to family health, education, and food.
• Create awareness programmes on breastfeeding and child-care practices for (pregnant and lactating) women.
• Provide nutrition sensitive social protection systems and scale them up. Provide micronutrient supplements for
children and mothers when necessary.
• Include nutrition education in primary and secondary school curriculums.
Improve access to water, sanitation, and health facilities
• Provide access to adequate water and sanitation facilities.
• Improve access to and use of safe health services, and ensure a safe and hygienic environment.
towards fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the government is now committed to achieving the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The SDGs represent a transformative agenda and visionary plan
of action that will transform the economies and societies of developing countries with a view to eliminating poverty
by 2030. The agenda is not simply about protection from vulnerability or destitution; it is about broader economic,
social, and political transformation. There is wide disparity in development across the nation and some areas like
the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) – left behind economically and with a history of social tensions – will require special
attention to ensure timely achievement of the SDGs while promoting social harmony. To avoid intensifying existing
inequities, CHT will require context-specific strategies to achieve the SDGs.
The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is an ethnically, culturally, and topographically diverse region of Bangladesh with a
population of approximately 1.6 million, including 12 ethnic communities with distinct tribal cultures and traditions.
The region has rich natural and environmental resources with hills, forests, rivers, and lakes, a diverse flora and
fauna, and areas of outstanding scenic beauty. The majority of the population relies on subsistence farming, and
especially jhum farming practices. With increased environmental degradation and a low capacity to adapt to the
impacts of climate change, the current agricultural practices can no longer sustain the population of the region. The
region provides important ecosystem services that play a significant role in economic development, environmental
protection, ecological sustainability, and human wellbeing, both in the CHT itself and downstream. Nevertheless,
the CHT remains one of the most disadvantaged regions in the country and lags behind in almost all development
indicators. More than 60% of households live below the poverty line and more than half do not have access to safe
drinking water or sanitation facilities.
This paper sheds light on the importance of localizing the SDGs, while exploring the socioeconomic issues,
development challenges, and potential and opportunities in the CHT. It discusses the development potential of
the region in various sectors, assesses the present situation, identifies key issues and gaps, and suggests policy
options and strategic mechanisms to optimize the full potential, expedite socioeconomic development, and achieve
the SDGs.
This paper provides examples of good practices drawn from experience in neighbouring countries facing similar
issues that can be replicated in the CHT region. The CHT has a significant potential for development in horticulture,
high-value agricultural products, beekeeping, livestock, fisheries, agro-based micro-enterprises, tourism, forestry,
and water resources management. Value chain development with agribusiness can play a key role in enhancing
rural livelihoods, while tourism can help increase opportunities for off-farm employment. Forests will play a vital
role in stabilizing the fragile landscape, protecting water resources, biodiversity conservation, and supporting
daily needs. Integrated watershed management, together with community-led forest management to halt forest
degradation and promote conservation and regeneration, can contribute substantially to development efforts.
Careful attention must be paid to understanding the hill and mountain context of the CHT, the spatial disadvantages
and advantages, the ethnic and cultural diversity, and the constraints and opportunities. The SDGs need to be
tailored to the CHT context so that they provide the scope for creating a long-term vision and planning appropriate
action, while successful implementation will necessitate fostering multi-stakeholder engagement among government,
local communities, development agencies, the private sector, NGOs, academia, and research organizations.
An enabling framework is presented with a multipronged integrated strategy for working towards realization of the
SDGs. The key elements of the framework are:
Ensuring peace, stability, and governance, putting in place appropriate policies, strengthening institutions,
and making the financial and technical resources available to provide the overall framework conditions for
implementing the SDGs;
proportion of the population. The challenges and issues of nutrition security in mountain areas are different to
those in the plains, and need special attention from governments. We examine the status of nutrition security in
the mountain areas of the HKH countries and identify the key issues and challenges, and the potential role of
Himalayan traditional crops in addressing these challenges. Based on our findings, we suggest an integrated
approach towards achieving nutrition security in the mountain areas of the HKH region.
The study found that the prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight in children under five in some mountain
areas such as Meghalaya in India, the western mountains and far-western hills of Nepal, Balochistan province in
Pakistan, the eastern region of Afghanistan, and Chin state in Myanmar, is very high compared to the national
average in the respective countries. Children and women are affected most. Poor nutrition leaves children
underweight, weakened, and susceptible to infection, and ultimately stunted and deprived of cognitive and learning
capacity. Any intervention should have a special focus on the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, at the peak of
their vulnerability. Women play a significant role in the nutritional outcome of their children and other household
members and should be empowered to make favourable decisions that help improve the nutritional status of the
family.
There are several causes of undernutrition and malnutrition in the HKH region and an integrated approach is
needed to tackle the issues. Malnutrition is a multidimensional problem that demands a multisectoral approach,
but nutrition interventions often work in isolation and fail to include the agricultural, social, cultural, economic,
and public health dimensions. Policies should recognize that nutrition issues are cross-cutting; nutrition needs to
be integrated into all development processes and targeted nutrition programmes should be combined with poverty
alleviation programmes. The study proposes an integrated framework to improve nutrition in the HKH region
effectively.