Multi-Sector Approach to Reducing Malnutrition – Women Deliver

In Bangladesh, the Strengthening Household Ability to Respond to Development Opportunities program adopted a multi-sectoral approach to improving the nutritional status of mothers and children in four remote rural areas. The framework focused on enhancing the literacy and leadership skills of girls and women, educating them about sound health and nutrition practices, and installing wells for access to safe drinking water; these interventions led to better health within the communities and a reduction in malnutrition. And by incorporating the importance of proper WASH practices, the percentage of mothers who wash their hands before food preparation rose from 60% to 94%; households with access to safe, clean water rose from 57% to 71%; and the percentage of people with access to a sanitary latrine rose from 13% to 54%.