A permanent secretariat for the Nutrition Council and a Parliamentary Committee on Nutrition should be established. Unfortunately, population figures used to compute the requirements are underestimates, as was proved by the recently completed census. On the production side nutrition needs have been simply translated into agricultural production figures without considering feasibility. This bias, coupled with unequal distribution of food, is likely to lead to further malnutrition in the vulnerable classes of the population. The population affected may range from 50 to 80 per cent, depending on the location and living conditions.
Roundworm is the most common parasite found.
The incidence of anaemia, despite a satisfactory average iron intake of 22 mg per day, is a direct consequence of parasitism. Similarly, other parasites and communicable diseases lead to serious malnutrition, particularly in children. Several million children and women located in three northern districts of Bangladesh suffer from goitre. A successful food policy, besides production aspects, must take into account distribution, conservation, utilization, and retention of nutrients. Increasing production and productivity is only one aspect of the problem.