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BANGLADESH has made notable strides in health and development over the past decades, with declining poverty, improved access to services, and rising life expectancy. Yet nutritional indicators remain alarmingly poor. The country records one of the highest rates of low birthweight globally at 28 per cent, while anaemia affects nearly 29 per cent of women of reproductive age. One-third of adolescent girls are undernourished, and among children under five, 24 per cent are stunted, 22 per cent underweight, and 11 per cent wasted. Pregnant and lactating women continue to suffer from nutrient deficiencies, jeopardising both their own health and that of their children.

These statistics are not simply health outcomes but symptoms of deeper structural inequalities. The Nutrition International’s 2025 policy brief highlights that gender inequality is central to shaping who is undernourished, how, and why. Improving nutrition in Bangladesh demands that gender equality be treated not as an optional add-on but as a core principle across policies, services, budgets, and institutions.

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Gender inequality and nutrition

GENDER inequality matters profoundly for nutrition because it influences outcomes on physiological, social, economic, and institutional levels. Women, adolescent girls, and mothers have higher physiological needs, yet they face systemic barriers in meeting them. Socially, discriminatory norms around food distribution, decision-making, mobility, and early marriage reduce women’s access to nutritious food, health care, and information. Economically, women’s limited control over household resources undermines their capacity to prioritise healthy diets.

Institutionally, programmes often fail to reach women effectively. For example, pregnant women report facing food taboos or restrictions that diminish their nutrient intake. Adolescent girls are especially vulnerable to early marriage, interrupted schooling, and excessive household chores, all of which worsen malnutrition risks. Ultimately, gender equality is not only about fairness — it is a strategic necessity. When women and girls gain decision-making power, agency, and equal opportunities, nutrition outcomes improve across entire families and communities.

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Gaps in policy and practice

BANGLADESH has established policy frameworks such as the National Nutrition Policy and the Second National Plan of Action for Nutrition (2016–2025). These provide important foundations, complemented by food fortification programmes and integration of nutrition into social safety nets. However, they remain insufficiently gender-responsive.

Social norms, including son preference, early marriage, restrictions on women’s mobility, and dietary taboos, continue to undermine progress. In many households, women lack autonomy over food purchases and healthcare decisions, with husbands or mothers-in-law often holding authority. Service delivery systems are also gender-insensitive, with inadequate privacy, limited female providers, and few adolescent-friendly services. Monitoring and evaluation rarely use sex-disaggregated data or conduct gender analysis, limiting the ability to identify inequities or adapt programmes. Finally, while gender is referenced in policy documents, gender-related interventions are often underfunded and treated as tokenistic rather than transformative.

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Emerging opportunities

DESPITE these gaps, there are promising developments. The Second National Plan of Action for Nutrition recognises multisectoral approaches and highlights mothers, adolescents, and children as priority groups. Adolescent nutrition programmes in ten districts and rice fortification initiatives through social safety nets demonstrate strong impact when gender considerations are included.

Community-based research in Cox’s Bazar and districts such as Jamalpur, Sherpur, and Habiganj illustrates the value of engaging families and communities. Men supporting household chores, women accessing female providers in health facilities, and open discussions on food taboos have led to visible improvements. These examples confirm that gender-responsive approaches can generate tangible benefits and provide valuable models to replicate.

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Priorities for integrating gender equality

BANGLADESH must focus on interlinked reforms to systematically embed gender equality into nutrition.

Policy and governance: National frameworks like the Second National Plan of Action for Nutrition must embed explicit gender commitments in implementation plans, indicators, accountability systems, and budget allocations. Stronger coordination is required across ministries—including Health, Women and Children Affairs, Education, Social Welfare, and Finance—under the Bangladesh National Nutrition Council. Gender audits of nutrition budgets should be routine, and women’s voices, including those of adolescent girls, must be represented in decision-making forums.

Service delivery: Nutrition and health services must be redesigned to be gender-responsive. Recruiting and retaining female health workers, ensuring privacy, creating breastfeeding-friendly spaces, and expanding mobile outreach for women with restricted mobility are critical. Structural barriers — such as transport difficulties or inconvenient service hours — must also be addressed. Public awareness campaigns should challenge harmful norms and superstitions around diet and pregnancy.

Community empowerment: Sustainable progress depends on transforming behaviour and social norms. Men, boys, and mothers-in-law should be actively engaged in discussions about gender roles and nutrition. Role models — such as fathers sharing caregiving responsibilities — can challenge stereotypes. Schools and peer networks must integrate nutrition education, particularly for adolescents, to build knowledge and agency around diet, reproductive health, and menstrual hygiene.

Data and accountability: Expanding the collection and use of sex- and age-disaggregated data is essential. Gender analysis should be embedded at all stages of nutrition programmes. Accountability mechanisms must include gender-responsive indicators, systematic mid-term reviews, and community feedback channels to ensure interventions remain relevant and effective.

Financing and capacity building: Dedicated budget lines for gender-responsive nutrition are vital. These should support training, infrastructure, and community engagement. Staff across government and health systems needs training in gender sensitivity and rights-based approaches. Partnerships with civil society and women’s organisations will be crucial for inclusive implementation and oversight.

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Lessons from field

BANGLADESH already provides concrete examples of what works. In rice fortification programmes through social safety nets, millions of women and adolescents have benefited. Success was achieved by integrating safe spaces for adolescent girls, engaging male caregivers in dialogues, and adapting service delivery to protect women’s dignity.

In Cox’s Bazar, participatory research exposed harmful food taboos and mobility restrictions. Programme responses included mobile clinics and home visits, which enabled women to access care without breaching restrictive norms. These experiences highlight the importance of grounding interventions in local contexts and using gender analysis to adapt strategies effectively.

Progress is not without challenges. Deep-rooted social norms are slow to change and may provoke resistance. Limited financial and human resources constrain programme expansion, while government systems are often overstretched. Programmes must balance scale with quality and rapid expansion with participatory approaches that take time. There is also the risk of tokenism, where gender is superficially included, or of backlash if programmes are perceived as externally imposed. Careful, context-sensitive planning and robust monitoring are essential to mitigate these risks.

Integrating gender equality into nutrition requires leadership at every level. The government must spearhead reform by revising policies, allocating adequate budgets, and ensuring the Bangladesh National Nutrition Council drives gender-responsive systems. Donors and development partners should place gender equality at the centre of funding, monitoring, and evaluation. Community-based organisations, women’s groups, and youth networks bring vital local knowledge and legitimacy and must be included in programme design and monitoring. Service providers also need training and support to deliver gender-sensitive care with respect and dignity.

With ambitious nutrition targets and growing global momentum around gender equality, the opportunity to accelerate progress is within reach. Integrating gender equality across nutrition policies, programmes, and practices will not only improve health outcomes but also strengthen dignity, agency, and equity for women, girls, and marginalised communities.

Ultimately, the fight against malnutrition is inseparable from the fight for gender equality. One cannot be achieved without the other. By embracing gender-responsive strategies at every level, from policy frameworks and budgeting to community engagement and service delivery, Bangladesh can move closer to a future where all citizens, regardless of gender, are free from malnutrition and empowered to reach their full potential.

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Musharraf Tansen, a former country representative of the Malala Fund, is a development analyst.