Comment on contributions regarding the impact of the Bangladesh Integrated Nutrition Project

Abstract

The Bangladesh Integrated Nutrition Project (BINP), started in 1995, sought to reduce child malnutrition through growth monitoring and supplementary feeding of children aged 6–24 months, and supplementary feeding for pregnant women so as to increase pregnancy weight gain and, hence, reduce the incidence of low birth weight. The paper by Hossain et al. (2005) in the January issue of this journal laid out the workings of the programme more fully, and presented evidence of limited impact based on a survey undertaken by Save the Children UK (SC). Two letters received in response to that paper, published in this issue, draw on other data sources to argue that the BINP has in fact been a success to be replicated. But the need to address the issue of malnutrition in Bangladesh, and the undoubted commitment of the NGO workers who are implementing the BINP at field level, should not deflect us from the need to make a rigorous assessment of the available evidence as to how well the programme is working.