Innovative program in Bangladesh causes large reductions in child malnutrition

An innovative program in Bangladesh that caused unusually large reductions in child malnutrition will come to life May 9 at an event featuring experts from the poverty-fighting organization CARE and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

They'll provide an inside look at a program called SHOUHARDO that combined nutritional support with women's empowerment initiatives to reduce child stunting, a key measure of malnutrition, by 28 percent in less than four years. That's twice the rate of the average U.S. government-funded food aid project of its kind.

The event, to be held at the National Press Club, will include remarks from Dr. Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE USA, Faheem Khan, head of SHOUHARDO, Denise Rollins, deputy administrator for Asia at USAID, and Anne Marie Golla, senior evaluation expert at International Center for Research on Women. The panel also will present testimonials from five Bangladeshi families who participated in the program.

Implemented by CARE from 2004 to 2010, the first phase of SHOUHARDO was the largest non-emergency USAID food security program in the world. It holds particular significance in light of the President's fiscal year 2013 request of $56.2 billion for the international affairs budget, which represents an increase of 2.4% -- or $1.3 billion – over fiscal year 2012. As the foreign aid budget comes up for discussion this year, SHOUHARDO demonstrates how effective programs and partnerships can make a sustainable impact on the lives of women, men and children.

The program was designed to reduce malnutrition among 2 million of the poorest people in Bangladesh. Researchers found that women who participated in empowerment interventions to help them fight sexual harassment, move about their communities more freely and gain a greater say in household decisions were less likely to have stunted children than women who received only direct nutrition interventions such as regular food rations.

In other words, the children of empowered women actually grew taller.

The astounding results of the SHOUHARDO program also come as USAID leads a social media campaign called "Every Child Deserves a Fifth Birthday." With almost 7 million children dying before the fifth birthdays, the campaign strives to stop these preventable deaths.