Recently icddr,b and UNICEF co-hosted a seminar titled "Effectiveness Trial of Locally Developed Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food in Treating Severe Acute Malnutrition in Rohingya Camps" at icddr,b's Sasakawa Auditorium.

Dr Tahmeed Ahmed, Executive Director of icddr,b, chaired the event, joined by Chief Guest Ms Nurjahan Begum, Adviser to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and Special Guest Ms Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh.

Highlighting persistent child stunting in Bangladesh, Dr Ahmed introduced Sharnali—a locally developed Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) made from ingredients like rice, lentils, chickpeas, and milk powder. He noted: "We can't hospitalise every malnourished child. Sharnali offers a community-based, cost-effective solution."

Dr Md Munirul Islam presented promising trial results from Rohingya camps, showing both Sharnali-1 and Sharnali-2 formulations effectively treated severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in children aged 6–59 months.

Ms Flowers lauded the breakthrough: "Sharnali literally saves lives." She called for scaling it up at the community level, adding, "It's not whether Bangladesh can afford it—but whether we can afford not to."

Ms Begum compared Sharnali's potential to that of ORS, calling for reduced production costs and better maternal nutrition to fight SAM nationwide. 

Source: icddr,b