There is no alternative to meeting optimal requirement of nutrition for ensuring normal mental, physical and psychological growths of the children, experts said at a daylong nutrition fair on Tuesday.Fulbari Area Development Programme (ADP) of World Vision Bangladesh (WVB) organised the nutrition fair at its Dadul Sub-centre under Kazihal union in Fulbari upazila of Dinajpur under its Child Welfare Project.Dadul Community Clinic, Pukhuri Community Clinic, Rashidpur Community Clinic, Suryamukhi Mohila Forum and Sonali Mohila Forum extended cooperation in arranging the nutrition fair with the theme of ‘Child Nutrition is Beside Home.’The fair was arranged for creating social awareness about child health, nutritious foods and ways for preventing child maturation through demonstrating different available nutritional foodstuffs there available in rural areas and inputs.Six stalls namely ‘Protein’, ‘Starch’, ‘Vitamin’, ‘Water’, ‘Fat’ and ‘Mineral Salts’ were set up in the fair introducing concerned foodstuffs and necessary inputs among the visiting 500 mothers, students and local people.Besides, separate stalls were set up in the fair displaying necessity and ways of meeting nutritional demand of pregnant women, anti natal care,balanced diets for women during pregnancy, homestead gardening and emergency medicare services.Fulbari Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Fazlul Haque attended the inaugural ceremony and formally launched the fair as the chief guest with Acting Chairman of Kazihal union Abu Sayeed Chowdhury in the chair.Nutritionist of Fulabri Upazila Health Complex Azizul Haque, Upazila Sanitary Inspector Nazrul Islam, Upazila Family Planning Officer Ismail Hossain and Manager of Fulbari ADP of WVB Pabitra B Costa addressed the ceremony as special guests.Chairmen of the Community Clinic Mismanagement Committees, Presidents of these community clinics, a number of mothers, parents, teachers, public representatives and local elite also spoke.The experts narrated the severe complications of malnutrition and said that rate of night blindness, infant and child mortalities could be reduced further through preventing deficiency of nutrition, vitamins and minerals among the babies and children.The chief guest said many babies, children, mothers, pregnant women and adolescents are suffering from malnutrition following lack of awareness, knowledge and inappropriate food habits those cause subsequent complications.He lauded role of the community clinics in assisting rural people on proper selection and consumption of the locally available nutritious foodstuffs in preventing malnutrition of the children for building a healthier nation. -BSS, Rangpur
