Can cash transfers solve Bangladesh’s malnutrition?
Silvi is eight months old. She lives in a remote village in one of the poorest regions of Bangladesh.
Her mother Maya often reflects on her pregnancy and worries about her daughter’s wellbeing as she recalls her morning sickness, the uncertain and painful birth, and the long nights at Silvi’s side as the baby lay wide awake wailing, fighting one illness after the other.
She remembers, too, the thrills of hearing Silvi giggle at the sound of her rattle, and when she began to crawl.
Despite the little joys that her baby brings to Maya, Silvi’s early childhood was marked with apprehension: Shouldn’t she be a little heavier? When will she learn to walk? Will she be healthy and intelligent enough to earn a decent living when she grows up? Or would she be handed down her parents’ poverty and get married like Maya had to, at only sixteen?
But with the right kind of support, Silvi can have a chance at a better life and bring her family out of poverty.
Growing evidence has shown that adequate nutrition before birth and the two years after – or in the first 1,000-days – has lasting effects on a child’s intelligence and brain development
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When they’re properly fed and exposed to learning, children can reach their full potential and break the poverty trap.
Thus, investing in early childhood nutrition and cognitive development (CNCD) is critical to curbing poverty in a country like Bangladesh, where 36 percent of children below the age of 5 are stunted —or too short for their age--, low birth weight is prevalent, and maternal nutrition remains poor.
Sadly, poor families like Maya’s are not utilizing services available to them.
