The multi-sectoral annual nutrition action meeting of Rangpur District was held on Monday at the Parjatan Motel, Rangpur, organized by the District Nutrition Coordinating Committee in collaboration with the Joint Action for Nutrition Outcome (JANO) Project, a press release said.

The meeting was presided over by Md. Asib Ahsan, Deputy Commissioner, Rangpur and President, District Nutrition Coordinating Committee, Rangpur Dr. Md. Khalilur Rahman, DG, Bangladesh National Nutrition Council was present as the chief guest and Syed Farhad Hossain, Deputy Director (Deputy Secretary), Local Government, Rangpur and Dr. Ikhtiyar Uddin Khandaker, Director-Health, Care Bangladesh were present as special guests. Along with members of the District Nutrition Coordination Committee and JANO project officials, Dr. Hiramb Kumar Roy, Civil Surgeon, Rangpur and Member Secretary, District Nutrition Coordinating Committee, Rangpur, Dr. Akhtar Imam, Deputy Director, Bangladesh National Nutrition Council, Dr. Gazi Ahmed Hasan, Deputy Program Manager, NNS, IPHN were also present in the meeting.

The multi-sectoral annual district nutrition action plan 2020-2021 of Rangpur district was presented at the meeting where the 2020-2021 annual nutrition action plan of 8 Upazilas, 8 ministries, 10 departments 76 Unions 6 development partner organizations of Rangpur were mentioned. In the workshop, the officers in charge of all the departments at the district level presented the nutrition related action plan of their respective departments. The total allocation for the action plan is 1160616500 (one hundred and eighteen crores seven lakh sixteen thousand five hundred taka). Dr. Hiramba Kumar Roy, Civil Surgeon and Member Secretary, District Nutrition Coordinating Committee, Rangpur presented the District Nutrition Plan and Dr. Md. Mostafa Zaman Chowdhury, Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer and Member Secretary, Upazila Nutrition Coordinating Committee, Taraganj, Rangpur presented the Upazila nutrition plan.

Md. Khalilur Rahman, Director General of Bangladesh National Nutrition Council said that there is no alternative to multi-sectoral district nutrition action plan to solve the nutrition issues in Bangladesh. Dr. Ikhtiyar Uddin Khandaker, Director-Health, CARE Bangladesh said that JANO Project is always ready to support to Government of Bangladesh specially in Rangpur and Nilphamari region on multi-sectoral nutritional activities as well as nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive issues.

JANO project is funded by the European Union and co-funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation and is being implemented by CARE Bangladesh, Plan International and ESDO. The objective of the project is to contribute in ending malnutrition of Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLW) together with addressing the nutritional needs of children under five years of age, and adolescent girls. The project will closely work with the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) at the national, regional and local levels, to support the effective implementation of the National Plan of Action for Nutrition 2 (NPAN 2).