Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), a Switzerland-based international organisation, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday to provide better nutrition to the apparel sector workers. The two sides intended to improve the health status of the country’s RMG workers, which will have a positive impact on the lives of the workers in Bangladesh, according to a press release. Faruque Hassan, President of BGMEA, and Dr. Rudaba Khondker, Country Director of GAIN, signed the MoU at the BGMEA office on behalf of their respective sides, it said. Read more: BGMEA, GarmentTechBD to collaborate in improving supply chain management skills Mohammad Monower Hossain, joint secretary of BGMEA, Moniruzzaman Bipul, Portfolio Lead, Drivers of Food Systems Change, GAIN, G.M. Reza Sumon, Project Manager, GAIN, and others were present on the occasion. Under the MoU, there will be collaboration to create an enabling environment for ensuring the proper nutrition of the RMG workers in the future, it said. The two sides will provide technical guidance to strengthen the institutional capacity of the National WFN Alliance for scaling up nutrition activities for workers’ well-being. Read more: BGMEA, GarmentTechBD to collaborate in improving supply chain management skills Also, they will make collective approaches and mechanisms to improve workers' access to affordable, nutritious and safe food by establishing a Fair Price Shop (FPS) at factory premises, the press release added.

Many workers of different industries in Bangladesh are victims of malnutrition and their productivity rate is likely to fall up to 20% due to the condition.   So, the workers' nutrition safety will have to be prioritised for the implementation of the government's Vision 2021 and 2041 and achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). Also read: 43 pc female RMG workers suffering from malnutrition Speakers said this at a partnership agreement signing ceremony between the Department of Labour and Switzerland-based Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) in the capital Monday. Moniruzzaman Bipul, portfolio lead of GAIN Bangladesh, said ensuring necessary nutrition for workers may increase their productivity rate up to 20%. "Only anaemia, caused by iron deficiency, is responsible for the reduction of productivity worth $500 crore in South Asia."

As most of the country’s kitchen markets lack favourable atmosphere for women, speakers at a programme called for ensuring healthy and women-friendly markets.  

Economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has set back decades of progress against the most severe forms of malnutrition and is likely to kill 168,000 children before any global recovery takes hold, according to a study released Monday by 30 international organizations.

Eating a nutritious diet is very important in times of Covid. And ensuring the supply of nutrition-dense foods in the country can pave the way for sustainable development, according to experts.

About 43 percent of workers in the country's lucrative ready-made garments (RMG) industry are suffering from malnutrition, according to Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), a Swiss-based International Organization.

Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), a Switzerland-based NGO, has launched a campaign to raise awareness among RMG workers on malnutrition through digital distant approach.

Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun on Thursday called to ensure production of vitamin-rich edible oil while maintaining the guidelines of social distance.