Health and Nutrition
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and its related agencies and departments are the main implementing partners. Other partners are the Ministry of Industries, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Ministry of Information, NGOs and civil society organisations. The Child Health Project, supported by UNICEF, is being implemented by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with development partners, NGOs, and other stakeholders. The main partners are WHO, USAID, DFID, SIDA, Royal Government of Netherlands, Rotary International, ICDDR, B, NGO Services Delivery Programme (NDSP), and BRAC. In 1991, the Government of Bangladesh took the bold approach of implementing the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders by embarking on a Universal Salt Iodization Programme covering all salt factories throughout the country. In this effort, the BSCIC of the Ministry of Industries has played a key role in all USI-related activities, particularly in the field of planning, training, supervision, and monitoring. In addition to UNICEF, other government institutions such as the Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN) and the Bangladesh Office of the International Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD) have provided technical support to the USI project and other CIDD activities. These organisations have all jointly conducted field surveys as part of the programmes on CIDD and USI. The private sector started to gradually take over the financial responsibility to procure potassium iodate after July 2000 for financial sustainability of USI based on a phase-wise take-over plan. This was implemented through a programme co-ordinated by the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) of the Ministry of Industries with technical and financial assistance from the Government of Bangladesh and UNICEF. The BSCIC has monitored USI since its involvement, but has stepped up activities within the last four years. The Government of Bangladesh has made a commitment to implementing the programme to control Vitamin-A deficiency and its consequences in its National Food and Nutrition Policy and National Plan of Action on Nutrition. The Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has played a key role in all control of Vitamin-A deficiency and its related activities, particularly in planning, training, supervision, and monitoring. Control of Vitamin-A deficiency and its consequences in Bangladesh is being implemented with the strong political commitment and administrative support of the government. CIDA has provided financial support, and UNICEF has provided financial and technical support. Other donors and NGOs have supported this activity in the area of programme implementation and evaluation.
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